Acupuncture for overactive bladder - a feasibility study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Acupuncture in addition to standard conservative treatment for overactive bladder; a feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial (the ACASO study)

• IRAS ID

  241138

• Contact name

  Emma Hargreaves

• Contact email

  emma.hargreaves@nuth.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Overactive bladder (OAB) effects 1 in 6 people. The symptoms of OAB are; a strong urge to urinate, passing urine more frequently, and for some people, urinary incontinence. Current treatment for OAB includes lifestyle measures, medication and surgery. These measures can be invasive, expensive or have unwanted side effects. One study has shown acupuncture to be as effective as one type of medication with less side effects. Further high quality research is needed to establish acupuncture’s treatment effect, before it is accepted as a treatment for OAB.
  Before investing in a large clinical trial looking at the effect of acupuncture on OAB, we must first establish the feasibility of the study design. This is the aim, of the ACASO study.
  Thirty participants will be recruited over a 15 month period, from the gynaecology and urology departments of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust. They will be randomly allocated to one of two groups:
  • a standard care group who will receive current conservative measures delivered during two study appointments
  • a standard care plus acupuncture group who will receive, in addition, 6 weekly acupuncture treatments.
  Standard care includes discussion of bladder habits, fluid intake and bladder retraining techniques. Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles into the skin, at specified points, which remain in place for approximately 30 minutes.
  All participants will be asked to complete a bladder diary and two questionnaires at their initial appointment, at eight weeks and fourteen weeks after enrolling onto the study.
  The research team will collect data on:
  • Length and ease of recruitment
  • Completion of outcome measures
  • Number of people who do not complete the study
  Data analysis will inform the design of the design of ACASO II, a larger study which will test the treatment effect of acupuncture for the symptoms of OAB

• REC name

  North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/NE/0215

• Date of REC Opinion

  24 Aug 2018

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion