Chinese Medicine Sharing Session - Chinese Medicine: From Clinical to Evidence-based Research

The Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (Shatin District) has engaged in several randomized controlled trials over the past decade to build clinical evidence for Chinese medicine approaches. These trials include investigating the efficacy of acupuncture for neck & heel pain, post-stroke dysphagia, and smoking cessation. The results of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to the evidence-based Chinese medicine.


The neck pain study, published in PLOS One in 2017, demonstrated the effectiveness of abdominal acupuncture for reducing neck pain intensity and improving quality of life, with sustained effects observed at follow-up; while the heel pain study, published in Acupuncture in Medicine in 2020, found that electro-acupuncture plus warm needling led to greater improvements in pain and foot function compared to controls, with improvements lasted until week 8 post-treatment. 


Additionally, the post-stroke dysphagia study, published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2020, showed that acupuncture in addition to the conventional supportive and rehabilitative treatment improved swallowing function and quality of life of post-stroke dysphagia patients; while the smoking cessation study, published in Chinese Medicine in 2022, indicated acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure could achieve a nearly 50% cessation rate at week 24 with reduced nicotine dependence and improved well-being.


These four rigorous randomized controlled trials have provided additional scientific evidence for Chinese medicine approaches. The findings are being applied in clinical practice at the Centre to benefit more patients. The trials have strengthened the Centre's research capacity and competency in evidence-based Chinese medicine.

The Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (Southern District) has been dedicated to advancing evidence-based Chinese medicine and has undertaken multiple randomized controlled trials (RCT) to establish clinical evidence for Chinese medicine treatments. A De Quervain's tenosynovitis (DQt) study, published in Advances in Integrative Medicine in 2019 and Phytomedicine in 2022, has provided strong evidence for acupuncture treatment towards this disease.


This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Centre between 2016 and 2019 to investigate whether acupuncture could alleviate DQt, which causes wrist pain and feeling of weakness. 68 DQt subjects were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture treatment for 2 weeks or waitlist control in a ratio of 1:1. After 2 weeks, the acupuncture group showed significantly reduced pain (mean difference of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score for acupuncture vs waitlist control was -16.2 points) and improved grip and pinch strength of affected hands. Effects sustained for 10 weeks (mean difference of VAS score for acupuncture compared with baseline was -30.6 points). Acupuncture appeared safe with no serious adverse events. The study indicated that 2 weeks of acupuncture could reduce pain and improve strength and function in DQt patients, with long-term effects.


This study was the first RCT conducted by the SD CMCTR. Through this study, the Center’s Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) gained valuable and hands-on experience in designing, preparing for, and implementing a clinical trial. This experience has cultivated the atmosphere among the CMPs for initiating further pragmatic research, enabling them to strengthen their evidence-based practice in the future.

The Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (Kwai Tsing District) has been committed to supporting Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine (ICWM) Programme for cancer palliative care and engaged in research projects to promote evidence-based Chinese Medicine on cancer-related field. 


A single-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial investigated the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) for the alleviation of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients undergoing oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy was conducted between 2018 and 2020. Sixty CRC patients were randomly assigned to receive either EA or sham acupuncture (SA) once a week for 12 weeks in equal proportion during chemotherapy. The EA group showed significant reduction in CIPN severity and improvement in physical, role and social functions compared to the SA group. EA appeared safe and acceptable to patients. The study, published in Acupuncture in Medicine in 2022, provides preliminary evidence that EA may help alleviate acute CIPN in CRC patients, though more research is needed to confirm effects and examine EA for chronic CIPN.


This trial provides additional evidence for the ICWM Programme on cancer palliative care. Conducting the research has enhanced the Centre's research knowledge in evidence-based Chinese medicine and expanded its network of collaborations with Western medicine practitioners. The hands-on experience has stimulated greater enthusiasm for practical research among the Chinese medicine practitioners.