The effectiveness and safety of plum-blossom needle therapy for Tourette syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND Previous studies have indicated that acupuncture can alleviate the symptoms of Tourette syndrome (TS), but the evidence is insufficient. So far, there have been no reports on plum-blossom needle therapy for TS. Here we present a protocol for a randomized controlled trial using plum-blossom needle therapy to treat TS. METHODS/DESIGN Sixty patients will be randomly allocated into either the plum-blossom needle therapy group or the habit reversal training (HRT) group. All patients in each group will be given 12 weeks of treatment, with follow-up at the 24th week. The primary outcome measure will be the mean change from baseline in the total tic score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) at the 12th week. Secondary outcome measures will include the scores on the TS Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the mean changes from baseline in the YGTSS score and the Children and Adolescents' Quality of Life Scale (CAQOL) at other time points. Safety will also be evaluated. DISCUSSION This trial will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of plum-blossom needle therapy for TS compared with HRT. A limitation of this trial is that patients and acupuncturists cannot be blinded. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02403258 (Date of registration: March 31, 2015).