Clinical Research Directory

Acupuncture Therapy for Pediatric Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction

Disorders of Gut-Brain Interactions (DGBIs) significantly impact children globally, leading to reduced quality of life and increased healthcare utilization. Despite their prevalence, effective treatments for pediatric DGBIs remain limited. Acupuncture, though commonly used in clinical practice and supported by adult data, lacks robust empirical evidence in pediatric populations. This study addresses this critical gap. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in reducing symptom severity in pediatric patients with DGBIs. Key secondary objectives include evaluating improvements in quality of life, functional disability, and mental health outcomes. This is a parallel-group, randomized, placebo sham-controlled, participant-blind clinical trial. The study is being conducted in an outpatient pediatric referral center. A total of 96 participants, aged 8-17 years, meeting eligibility criteria for DGBIs will be enrolled. Participants must be medically stable and meet protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either acupuncture or sham acupuncture, alongside standard care. Treatments will occur over a predefined protocol period. Data will be collected at baseline, during treatment, and at specified post-treatment intervals. The primary outcomes will evaluate changes in pain intensity and frequency. Secondary outcomes will include assessments of pain resolution, quality of life, functional disability, and mental health. Statistical analyses will employ rigorous methodologies to ensure reliability and validity of findings.

Development of an Online ACT Intervention for Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction

The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and test the iACTforDGBI intervention in a sample of Swedish individuals with DGBI (Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction). The first substudy of this project (Substudy 1) aims to answer the following question: How can the design of iACTforDGBI be tailored to meet the specific needs of individuals with DGBI and clinically meaningful symptoms of anxiety and depression? Participants (individuals with symptoms compatible with a DGBI and anxiety and/or depression, and healthcare professionals working with DGBI patients) will be asked to participate in online focus-group interviews and provide information on their views of a preliminary version of the iACTforDGBi intervention.