Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome: a protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: There is insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for conclusions to be drawn. Given the current interest in acupuncture by patients, it is in the public interest to establish more rigorous evidence. Building on the positive findings from a pilot study, in this paper we present the protocol for a fully-powered trial designed to establish whether or not acupuncture is effective and cost-effective.

Acupuncture for depression: first steps toward a clinical evaluation.

Aim Of Study: To explore issues that need to be addressed in the design of a clinical trial of acupuncture for people with depression.

Methods: In this study we conducted a focus group with 6 volunteer participants with experiences of depression, and a prospective case series of 10 patients who received acupuncture treatment for their depression. In the case series study, 10 patients were referred by their general practitioner, and received up to 10 individualized acupuncture treatments from one of two acupuncturists.