We read with great interest a recent publication on the use of battlefield acupuncture
(BFA) to treat low back pain (LBP) in the emergency department [
[1]
]. This is a pilot interventional study illustrating the feasibility of using ear
acupuncture as a modality to alleviate symptoms of LBP. We would like to highlight
a few observations. Although the study has shown a statistically significant difference
in the post-intervention numerical rating scale (NRS) for low back pain between the
control group and BFA group, it was unclear what were the pre-intervention NRS in
these 2 groups and the changes in the pre-and-post intervention NRS between the 2
groups. A statistically significant NRS between the two groups post intervention does
not equate a statistically significant reduction in NRS within the group pre-and-post
treatment. As a result, it was impossible to comment on the clinical significance
between the pre-and-post intervention NRS. A previous study conducted in an emergency
department setting involving patients presenting with pain had determined the minimum
clinically significant difference for the 11 point NRS to be 1.39 ± 1.05 (95% confidence
interval, 1.27–1.51) [
[2]
]. Hence knowing the magnitude of change in NRS may help to place the significance
of the intervention in context.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Battlefield acupuncture to treat low back pain in the emergency department.Am J Emerg Med. 2018 Jun; 36: 1045-1048
- The minimum clinically significant difference in patient-assigned numeric scores for pain.Am J Emerg Med. 2005; 23: 828-832
- Does ear acupuncture have a role for pain relief in the emergency setting? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Med Acupunct. 2017; 29: 276-289
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: May 01, 2018
Accepted:
April 30,
2018
Received:
April 14,
2018
Footnotes
☆There are no disclosures.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
