Effect of Electroacupuncture on Postherpetic Neuralgia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Although electroacupuncture has demonstrated potential analgesic effects, high-quality evidence from rigorous randomized clinical trials remains limited.

尽管电针治疗已显示出潜在的镇痛效果，但来自严格随机临床试验的高质量证据仍然有限。

Background

To determine whether electroacupuncture reduces pain severity compared with sham electroacupuncture and evaluate its safety in patients with PHN.

确定电针治疗是否比安慰剂电针更能减轻带状疱疹后神经痛患者的疼痛程度，并评估其安全性。

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial took place at 7 tertiary hospitals in China and enrolled participants from October 2020 to July 2022, with the last follow-up in September 2022.

设计、设置和参与者：这项多中心、随机、安慰剂对照的临床试验在中国的7家三级医院进行，从2020年10月到2022年7月招募参与者，最后的随访在2022年9月。

Data analyses were performed from August to December 2025.

数据分析从2025年8月到12月进行。

Participants with PHN aged 45 to 75 years and moderate to severe pain (11-point Numeric Rating Scale [NRS-11] score ≥4) were recruited.

招募了年龄在45至75岁之间患有带状疱疹后神经痛（PHN）且疼痛程度为中度至重度（11点数字评分量表[NRS-11]评分≥4）的参与者。

Of 1072 patients screened, 624 were excluded.

在筛查的1072名患者中，有624名被排除在外。

The remaining 448 participants were randomized to electroacupuncture (n = 225) or sham electroacupuncture (n = 223); 383 participants (85.49%) completed the trial.

剩余的448名参与者被随机分配到电针治疗组（n = 225）或假电针治疗组（n = 223）；有383名参与者（85.49%）完成了试验。

intervention

Twenty sessions of electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture over 4 weeks, followed by a 4-week posttreatment follow-up.

在四周内进行20次电针或假电针治疗，随后进行四周的治疗后随访。

main_outcomes_and_measures

The primary outcome was the change in the NRS-11 scores from baseline to week 4, with responders defined as participants achieving a 30% or more reduction in NRS-11 scores.

主要结果是NRS-11评分从基线到第4周的变化，定义为反应者的参与者实现了NRS-11评分30%或更多的减少。

Results

Of 448 participants, the mean (SD) age was 63.19 (9.26) years, 233 (52.01%) were male, and 215 were female (47.99%).

在448名参与者中，平均（标准差）年龄为63.19（9.26）岁，其中233名（52.01%）为男性，215名为女性（47.99%）。

At week 4, the electroacupuncture group had a greater decrease in the NRS-11 scores (-1.52) than the sham electroacupuncture group (-0.99) with an adjusted mean difference of -0.53 (95% CI, -0.61 to -0.43; P < .001), and the responder rate was significantly higher in the electroacupuncture group (46.68%) than in the sham electroacupuncture group (24.28%) (adjusted risk difference, 22.40%; 95% CI, 13.02%-31.79%; P < .001).

在第4周时，电针组的NRS-11评分下降幅度（-1.52）大于假电针组（-0.99），调整后的平均差异为-0.53（95%置信区间，-0.61至-0.43；P<.001），且电针组的应答率（46.68%）显著高于假电针组（24.28%）（调整后的风险差异为22.40%；95%置信区间，13.02%-31.79%；P<.001）。

These treatment benefits persisted through a 1-month follow-up; no clinically significant adverse events were observed.

这些治疗效果在1个月的随访期间持续存在；未观察到任何临床显著的不良事件。

conclusions_and_relevance

Among patients with PHN in this study, electroacupuncture provided a statistically significant reduction in pain severity, increased responder rates, and improved pain-related functional outcomes.

在本研究中，对于带状疱疹后神经痛患者，电针治疗在统计学上显著减轻了疼痛程度，提高了反应者比例，并改善了与疼痛相关的功能结果。

These benefits suggest that electroacupuncture may be a useful nonpharmacological option for integrated management of PHN.

这些益处表明，电针可能是一种有用的非药物性选择，用于带状疱疹后神经痛的综合管理。

trial_registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04560361.

ClinicalTrials.gov 注册号：NCT04560361。