The Short-term Effects of Acupuncture on Patients with Diabetic Gastroparesis: a Randomised Crossover Study

Background: Acupuncture may improve gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with various disorders, but its efficacy in diabetic gastroparesis is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the short-term effects of acupuncture on gastric emptying and gastroparesis symptoms in patients with diabetic gastroparesis.

Methods: In a single-blind controlled crossover trial, 25 patients with diabetic gastroparesis were randomly assigned to undergo 1 week of real acupuncture (RA) treatment followed by 1 week of sham acupuncture (SA) treatment, or vice versa, with a washout of 1 month in between. Before and after each intervention, gastric retention, the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c levels were measured.

Results: 21 patients completed the study. Compared with SA treatment, RA treatment was associated with significantly greater reductions in gastric retention at 2 h (-11.1±7.0%; 95% CI -13.6% to -6.2%; p<0.01) and at 4 h (-5.0±2.8%; 95% CI -6.0% to -0.2%; p=0.04) and in GCSI score (-8.0±3.4; 95% CI -8.4 to -2.8; p<0.01). There were no significant differences in FBG and HbA1c levels between RA and SA treatments.

Conclusions: In patients with diabetic gastroparesis, 1 week of short-term manual acupuncture reduces gastric retention and improves gastroparesis symptoms.