Acupuncture as Adjunctive Therapy for Acute Renal Colic Caused by Urinary Calculi: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Acute renal colic caused by urinary calculi (ARCUC) has a considerable impact on quality of life. Acupuncture might be a potential treatment option. However, the evidence is limited. We will conduct this trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture as adjunctive treatment to diclofenac for ARCUC. Methods/design A total of 80 eligible patients who are diagnosed of urinary stone renal colic will be randomly allocated to the acupuncture group or the sham acupuncture group. Each patient will receive 1 session of acupuncture or sham acupuncture. The primary outcome will be the response rate of patients achieving a reduction of >50% on visual analogue score (VAS) from baseline to 10 minutes after treatment. Secondary outcomes will include the VAS, remedial analgesia, re-visit and admission rate, blinding assessment, credibility and expectancy, and adverse event. All patients who receive randomization will be included in the intent-to-treat analysis. Discussion The finding of this trial will provide evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for treatment of ARCUC. The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number ChiCTR 1900025202. Registered on 16 August 2019. (http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=40496)