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Older PatientsNCT05537155

Buccal Acupuncture for Delirium Treatment in Older Patients Recovering From Orthopedic Surgery

A study testing Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine care and Routine care in people with Older Patients and Orthopedic Surgery, run by Peking University First Hospital.

Withdrawn

Withdrawn. The study stopped before anyone enrolled.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study is designed to test the hypothesis that, for older orthopedic patients who developed postoperative delirium, combining buccal acupuncture with routine care will shorten delirium duration and relieve delirium severity. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 to 90 years
What is being tested?
Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine care and Routine care
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
0 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Oct 2022to Mar 2024
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 65 to 90 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Aged ≥65 years, but <90 years.
  • After knee or hip replacement surgery.
  • Diagnosed with delirium in the morning of enrollment.

Who cannot join

  • Refuse to participate in the study.
  • Presence of any contraindications to acupuncture, such as puncture site infections or platelet count ≤20×10^9/L.
  • Preoperative history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, or myasthenia gravis.
  • Inability to communicate due to coma, profound dementia, or language barrier, or inability to cooperate with treatment due to agitation.
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status grade ≥V, or estimated survival ≤24 h.

About this study

Official title: Buccal Acupuncture for Delirium Treatment in Older Patients Recovering From Orthopedic Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study is designed to test the hypothesis that, for older orthopedic patients who developed postoperative delirium, combining buccal acupuncture with routine care will shorten delirium duration and relieve delirium severity.

Read the detailed description

Delirium is an acute, transient central nervous system dysfunction characterized by fluctuating disturbances of attention, consciousness, and cognitive function. Delirium is common in older patients following surgery. The incidence of postoperative delirium ranges from 12.0% to 23.8% in older patients; the incidence of delirium is about 10.7-17.6% in older patients after joint replacement surgery. The occurrence of delirium is associated with worse outcomes, including increased early postoperative complications, prolonged hospital-stay, and increased in-hospital mortality, as well as long-term decline in cognitive function, quality of life, and survival duration.

Clinical use of acupuncture has a long history in China. Buccal acupuncture therapy is a microneedle technique and provides treatment for systemic diseases by acupuncturing specific acupoints in the cheek. Acupuncture is also used for delirium treatment. Studies of older patients who developed delirium in internal medicine wards found that, compared with routine care alone, combining routine care with acupuncture relieved delirious symptoms and severity more efficaciously. However, evidence in this aspect is limited. We suppose that, for older orthopedic patients who developed postoperative delirium, combining buccal acupuncture with routine care will shorten delirium duration and relieve delirium severity.

Being tested
Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine care, Routine care
Keywords
Older patients, Orthopedic surgery, Postoperative delirium, Buccal acupuncture, Treatment effects
Medical subject headings
Emergence Delirium

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine careProcedure or surgery

    Acupuncture will be performed at a depth of 10 mm, with the needle retaining for 20 min, in addition to routine care. Bilateral acupoints include "Tou", "Shangjing", "Jing", "Bei", and "Sanjiao". Unilateral acupoints is related to surgical sites and include "Kuan" in hip joint replacement surgery and "Xi" in knee joint replacement surgery. Patients with agitation will be treated first until agitation is controlled before acupuncture is performed.

  • Routine careOther

    Routing care includes the following: (1) remove the precipitating cause and treat the primary disease; and (2) supportive care, including reorientation and cognitive stimulation, sleep enhancement, early mobility and exercise, vision and hearing optimization, family engagement and empowerment, and early oral intake and nutrition.

Study groups in NCT05537155
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Buccal acupunctureExperimentalBuccal acupuncture will be performed in addition to routine care.
Receives: Procedure: Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine care
Routine careActive comparatorRoutine care will be provided.
Receives: Other: Routine care

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Number of delirium-free days within 5 days

    Delirium will be assessed twice daily (8:00-10:00 am, 18:00-20:00 pm) with the 3D-Confusion Assessment Method (3D-CAM) for non-intubated patients or the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) for intubated patients.

    Measured: Up to 5 days after enrollment

Secondary outcomes (5)
  1. Delirium severity within 5 days

    Delirium severity will be assessed twice daily (8:00-10:00 am, 18:00-20:00 pm) with the Confusion Assessment Method-Severity (CAM-S).

    Measured: Up to 5 days after enrollment

  2. Time to first delirium resolution

    Delirium resolution indicates no delirium episode for at least 24 hours.

    Measured: Up to 5 days after enrollment

  3. Delirium subtype

    Each time before assessing delirium, sedation or agitation will be assessed using the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS), with scores ranging from -5 (unarousable) to +4 (combative) and 0 indicates alert and calm. Patients with delirium will be classified into three subtypes: hyperactive (RASS consistently positive, from +1 to +4), hypoactive (RASS consistently neutral or negative, from -3 to 0), and mixed.

    Measured: Up to 5 days after enrollment

  4. Length of hospital stay after surgery

    Length of hospital stay after surgery

    Measured: Up to 30 days after surgery

  5. Quality of life at 30 days after surgery

    Quality of life will be assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) which is a 24-item questionnaire that assesses the quality of life in physical, psychological, and social relationship, and environmental domains. The score ranges from 0 to 100 for each domain, with higher score indicating better function.

    Measured: At 30 days after surgery

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Sep 2022
  2. Study startOct 2022 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionJan 2024 (estimated)
  4. Study completionMar 2024 (estimated)

Why it stopped: We do not have enough physicians who are authorized to perform buccal acupuncture in both hospitals.

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
0 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05537155
Sponsor's protocol ID
2022-220
Status last verified
Jul 2025
First submitted
9 Sep 2022
Last updated
31 Jul 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Silva AR, Regueira P, Albuquerque E, Baldeiras I, Cardoso AL, Santana I, Cerejeira J. Estimates of Geriatric Delirium Frequency in Noncardiac Surgeries and Its Evaluation Across the Years: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021 Mar;22(3):613-620.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.08.017. Epub 2020 Oct 1.

    PubMed 33011097
  • Berian JR, Zhou L, Russell MM, Hornor MA, Cohen ME, Finlayson E, Ko CY, Rosenthal RA, Robinson TN. Postoperative Delirium as a Target for Surgical Quality Improvement. Ann Surg. 2018 Jul;268(1):93-99. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002436.

    PubMed 28742701
  • Rong X, Ding ZC, Yu HD, Yao SY, Zhou ZK. Risk factors of postoperative delirium in the knee and hip replacement patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Orthop Surg Res. 2021 Jan 22;16(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s13018-020-02127-1.

    PubMed 33482875
  • Zhou Q, Zhou X, Zhang Y, Hou M, Tian X, Yang H, He F, Chen X, Liu T. Predictors of postoperative delirium in elderly patients following total hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2021 Nov 12;22(1):945. doi: 10.1186/s12891-021-04825-1.

    PubMed 34772392
  • Kitsis P, Zisimou T, Gkiatas I, Kostas-Agnantis I, Gelalis I, Korompilias A, Pakos E. Postoperative Delirium and Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Elective Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: A Narrative Review of the Literature. Life (Basel). 2022 Feb 20;12(2):314. doi: 10.3390/life12020314.

    PubMed 35207601
  • Lat I, McMillian W, Taylor S, Janzen JM, Papadopoulos S, Korth L, Ehtisham A, Nold J, Agarwal S, Azocar R, Burke P. The impact of delirium on clinical outcomes in mechanically ventilated surgical and trauma patients. Crit Care Med. 2009 Jun;37(6):1898-905. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e31819ffe38.

    PubMed 19384221
  • Quinlan N, Rudolph JL. Postoperative delirium and functional decline after noncardiac surgery. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011 Nov;59 Suppl 2:S301-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03679.x.

    PubMed 22091577
  • Lescot T, Karvellas CJ, Chaudhury P, Tchervenkov J, Paraskevas S, Barkun J, Metrakos P, Goldberg P, Magder S. Postoperative delirium in the intensive care unit predicts worse outcomes in liver transplant recipients. Can J Gastroenterol. 2013 Apr;27(4):207-12. doi: 10.1155/2013/289185.

    PubMed 23616958
  • Abelha FJ, Luis C, Veiga D, Parente D, Fernandes V, Santos P, Botelho M, Santos A, Santos C. Outcome and quality of life in patients with postoperative delirium during an ICU stay following major surgery. Crit Care. 2013 Oct 29;17(5):R257. doi: 10.1186/cc13084.

    PubMed 24168808
  • Pisani MA, Kong SY, Kasl SV, Murphy TE, Araujo KL, Van Ness PH. Days of delirium are associated with 1-year mortality in an older intensive care unit population. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009 Dec 1;180(11):1092-7. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200904-0537OC. Epub 2009 Sep 10.

    PubMed 19745202
  • Bickel H, Gradinger R, Kochs E, Forstl H. High risk of cognitive and functional decline after postoperative delirium. A three-year prospective study. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2008;26(1):26-31. doi: 10.1159/000140804. Epub 2008 Jun 24.

    PubMed 18577850
  • Van Rompaey B, Schuurmans MJ, Shortridge-Baggett LM, Truijen S, Elseviers M, Bossaert L. Long term outcome after delirium in the intensive care unit. J Clin Nurs. 2009 Dec;18(23):3349-57. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02933.x. Epub 2009 Sep 4.

    PubMed 19735334
  • Swarbrick CJ, Partridge JSL. Evidence-based strategies to reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium: a narrative review. Anaesthesia. 2022 Jan;77 Suppl 1:92-101. doi: 10.1111/anae.15607.

    PubMed 35001376
  • Inouye SK, Bogardus ST Jr, Baker DI, Leo-Summers L, Cooney LM Jr. The Hospital Elder Life Program: a model of care to prevent cognitive and functional decline in older hospitalized patients. Hospital Elder Life Program. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000 Dec;48(12):1697-706. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2000.tb03885.x.

    PubMed 11129764
  • Hshieh TT, Yang T, Gartaganis SL, Yue J, Inouye SK. Hospital Elder Life Program: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Effectiveness. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2018 Oct;26(10):1015-1033. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2018.06.007. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

    PubMed 30076080

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Buccal acupuncture in addition to routine care and Routine care in people with Older Patients and Orthopedic Surgery, run by Peking University First Hospital.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Jul 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Number of delirium-free days within 5 days (time frame: Up to 5 days after enrollment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05537155, which also lists 21 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Jul 2025.

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