Avaliação da eficácia da acupuntura como forma complementar ao tratamento medicamentoso em pacientes com dispepsia funcional

Abstract

Introduction: Functional dyspepsia (FD) represents a frequent gastrointestinal disorder in clinical practice. By presenting various etiopathogenic mechanisms, often the drug therapy is not entirely effective. Therefore, the search for complementary therapies such as acupuncture is essential. Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a complement to conventional treatment in functional dyspepsia patients. Methods: randomized clinical trial with functional dyspepsia patients in according with ROME III criteria. Two groups were created: Group I (drug therapy and specific acupuncture) and Group II (drug therapy and non-specific acupuncture). The gastrointestinal symptoms (Gastrointestinal Scale Related Symptoms – GSRS), presence of psychiatric disorders (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – HADS) and quality of life (Short-form Health Survey – SF 36) were evaluated, at the end and three months after treatment. Results: After 4 weeks of treatment there was significantly improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms in Group I (55 ± 12 vs. 29 ± 8,8; p = 0,001) and Group II (50 ± 10 vs. 46 ± 10,5; p = 0,001). Quality of life was significantly better in Group I (93,4 ± 7,3 vs. 102,4 ± 5,1; p = 0,001). Anxiety and depression disorders were significantly lower in Group I (93% vs. 0%; p = 0,001 and 46% vs. 0%; p = 0,004; respectively). Inter-group, gastrointestinal symptoms comparison and quality of life were significantly better in Group I (29 ± 8,8 vs. 46 ± 10,5; p < 0,001 and 102,4 ± 5,1 vs. 96,4 ± 6,1; p = 0,021; respectively). Three months after the treatment, gastrointestinal symptoms remained best in Group I, when compared to the pre-treatment values (38 ± 11,3 vs. 55 ± 12; p = 0,001). Conclusion: In patients with functional dyspepsia the complementary acupuncture treatment was superior to conventional treatment. Acupuncture as a complementary treatment can be effective in treating patients with FD.