The association between perceived sensitivity to medicines, reported side effects and personal characteristics: A secondary analysis of an RCT.

Introduction: A patient's perceived sensitivity to medicines (PSM) might influence the reported side effects of a treatment. The experience of side effects can result in personal and structural costs (such as nonadherence). Research on nocebo mechanisms and the workings of side effect reporting has been disproportionally smaller compared to the emerging evidence of the individual and clinical impact of the matter.

Do patients' pre-treatment expectations about acupuncture effectiveness predict treatment outcome in patients with chronic low back pain? A secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled clinical trial.

Objective: This secondary analysis of a randomised controlled patient-blinded trial comparing effectiveness and side effect briefings in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) investigated the association between patients' pre-treatment expectations about minimal acupuncture treatment and pain intensity as outcome during and after the end of the treatment.

Methods: Chronic low back pain patients with a pain intensity of at least 4 on a numeric rating scale from 0 to 10 received eight sessions of minimal acupuncture treatment over 4 weeks. The primary outcome was change in pain intensity rated on a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS 0-10) from inclusion visit to treatment session 4 and to the end of the treatment.

Effect of Briefing on Acupuncture Treatment Outcome Expectations, Pain, and Adverse Side Effects Among Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: In observational studies, patients' treatment outcome expectations have been associated with better outcomes (ie, a placebo response), whereas concerns about adverse side effects have been associated with an in increase in the negative effects of treatments (ie, a nocebo response). Some randomized trials have suggested that communication from clinicians could affect the treatment outcomes by changing patients' expectations.

Objective: To investigate whether treatment outcome expectations and reported adverse side effects could be affected by different briefing contents before a minimal acupuncture treatment in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

The influence of personality traits on the placebo/nocebo response: A systematic review.

Objective: Some people might be more prone to placebo and nocebo responses than others depending on their personality traits. We aimed to provide a systematic review on the influence of personality traits on placebo and nocebo responses in controlled and uncontrolled studies.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in the databases CINAHL, AMED, PsycINFO and EMBASE for relevant publications published between January 1997 and March 2018.

Evaluating the Effects of Acupuncture Using a Dental Pain Model in Healthy Subjects - A Randomized, Cross-Over Trial.

Acupuncture is a complementary and nonpharmacological intervention that can be effective for the management of chronic pain in addition to or instead of medication. Various animal models for neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, cancer-related pain, and visceral pain already exist in acupuncture research. We used a newly validated human pain model and examined whether acupuncture can influence experimentally induced dental pain.

Assessment of patients' expectations: development and validation of the Expectation for Treatment Scale (ETS).

Objective: To develop a short self-report instrument for the assessment of expectations (Expectation for Treatment Scale(ETS)) using acupuncture as a case example.

Design: A cross-sectional assessment with retest after 1 week.

Setting: A web-based survey with patients suffering from pain.