Real-World Study of Acupuncture for Pain Control
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Acupuncture-First Stepped Care Pathway (Routine Clinical Care).
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Non-Cancer Pain,Musculoskeletal Pain,Chronic Pain,Acute Pain. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Qi's Clinic, Real-World Effectiveness of an Acupuncture-First Stepped Care Pathway for Pain Management: An Episode-Based Observational Study in Routine Outpatient Clinical Practice Supported by an ES-Enabled Clinical System
Overview
The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of an acupuncture-first stepped care pathway for pain management in adults aged 18 years and older receiving routine outpatient clinical care for non-cancer-related pain conditions. The primary purpose is to describe episode-based clinical outcomes and care utilization patterns as they occur in standard practice. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What proportion of completed pain episodes achieve a clinically meaningful improvement, defined as a ≥50% reduction in pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale or Visual Analog Scale) within an episode treatment window of up to 8 acupuncture visits? * What are the visit utilization patterns, time to clinically meaningful improvement, and care escalation patterns within an acupuncture-first stepped care pathway in routine outpatient practice? There is no comparison group. This study does not introduce or test a new intervention. All care is delivered as part of standard clinical practice. Participants will: * Receive acupuncture treatment as part of routine outpatient care * Undergo routine pain assessments (NRS/VAS) at each clinical visit * Participate in standard clinical follow-up as determined by usual care practices No additional research-specific visits, procedures, questionnaires, or interventions are introduced. Data analyzed in this study are derived from routine clinical documentation systems and are de-identified prior to analysis.
Interventions
- Procedure Acupuncture-First Stepped Care Pathway (Routine Clinical Care)
This study does not assign or manipulate any intervention. Participants receive routine outpatient acupuncture care delivered within an existing acupuncture-first stepped care pathway. The pathway represents standard clinical practice and includes individualized acupuncture treatment decisions made by the treating practitioner. Treatment frequency, duration (up to 8 visits per episode), and potential care escalation are determined solely by routine clinical judgment and patient response. The s
Primary outcome measures
- Proportion of Pain Episodes Achieving Clinically Meaningful Improvement [Time frame: From baseline (initial visit) through episode closure, up to 12 weeks (maximum of 8 visits)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Adults aged 18 years or older
- Patients presenting with non-cancer-related pain conditions
- Patients receiving acupuncture as part of routine outpatient clinical care
Exclusion criteria
- Cancer-related pain conditions
- Patients who opt out of research use of their clinical data
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Center list to be confirmed — check the primary protocol.
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07454083 · Pro00093169