Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;10(3):100728.
doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2021.100728. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

Standardizing and optimizing acupuncture treatment for irritable bowel syndrome: A Delphi expert consensus study

Xin-Tong Su  1 , Li-Qiong Wang  1 , Na Zhang  2 , Jin-Ling Li  1 , Ling-Yu Qi  1 , Yu Wang  1 , Jing-Wen Yang  1 , Guang-Xia Shi  1 , Cun-Zhi Liu  1
Affiliations

Standardizing and optimizing acupuncture treatment for irritable bowel syndrome: A Delphi expert consensus study

Xin-Tong Su et al. Integr Med Res. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture has been widely utilized for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, heterogeneity is large among therapeutic strategies and protocols. The aim of this study was to propose some down-to-earth recommendations and establish an optimized protocol for acupuncture practice in IBS.

Methods: A panel of 74 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncturists participated in clinical issue investigation. Subsequently, systematic reviews concerning acupuncture for IBS were screened within 3 databases. An initial consensus questionnaire was formed from the results of clinical issue investigation and literature review. Ultimately, a Delphi vote was carried out to determine these issues. 30 authoritative experts with extensive experience were requested to respond with agreement, neutrality, or disagreement for the items. Consensus achievement on a given item was defined as greater than 80% agreement.

Results: Following a 2-round Delphi survey, there were 19 items reaching consensus; of which 5 items (26.32%) achieved thorough consensus, and significant agreement was reached for the other 14 items. These items can be classified into the 3 major domains: 1) clinical outcomes that acupuncture can bring for favorable intervention population (5 items), 2) suitable therapeutic principles and parameters of acupuncture (13 items), 3) possible adverse events in the treatment (1 item).

Conclusion: Without any ready-made guidelines and lacking of homogeneity in the published literatures, such expert consensus could be valuable for TCM acupuncturists in daily practice and patients with IBS to obtain appropriate and standardized acupuncture treatment. In addition, it also points out the clinical focus which need to be further explored in future trials.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; Acupuncture; Defecation; Expert consensus; Functional gastrointestinal disease; Traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Work flow diagram of consensus development process.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Items achieved consensus in the first round Delphi expert consensus vote.
Fig 3
Fig. 3
Items achieved consensus in the second round Delphi expert consensus vote.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lovell R.M., Ford A.C. Global prevalence of and risk factors for irritable bowel syndrome: a meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol H. 2012;10:712–721. - PubMed
    1. Sperber A.D., Bangdiwala S.I., Drossman D.A., Ghoshal U.C., Simren M., Tack J. Worldwide prevalence and burden of functional gastrointestinal disorders, results of rome foundation global study. Gastroenterology. 2021;160:99–114. - PubMed
    1. Lovell R.M., Ford A.C. Effect of gender on prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in the community: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012;107:991–1000. - PubMed
    1. Ford A.C., Lacy B.E., Talley N.J. Irritable bowel syndrome. New Engl J Med. 2017;376:2566–2578. - PubMed
    1. Everhart J.E., Ruhl C.E. Burden of digestive diseases in the united states part i: overall and upper gastrointestinal diseases. Gastroenterology. 2009;136:376–386. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources