Acupuncture Trial Protocol for Post-Stroke Vascular Vertigo

A 2026 study protocol details a multicenter, randomized controlled trial enrolling 234 patients with post-stroke vascular vertigo. It compares acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and active drug interventions over a 20-week period. The protocol includes primary and secondary outcome measures such as the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), anxiety scales, and neuroimaging data.

Use Cases

• Analyze the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) scores across the acupuncture, sham, and drug groups to compare treatment efficacy.
• Correlate multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings with DHI or Dizziness and Anxiety Rating Scale (DARS) outcomes to explore central nervous system mechanisms.
• Assess treatment safety by examining adverse event records reported during the 3-week intervention and follow-up periods.
• Evaluate patient-reported quality of life using 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) data collected at different trial stages.
• Model the relationship between patient expectations, measured via the Expectation Rating Scale (ERS), and clinical outcomes like DHI improvement.

Strengths

• Protocol for a rigorously designed trial with a defined sample size of 234 patients.
• Includes multiple objective and patient-reported outcome measures, such as DHI, DARS, SF-36, and multimodal MRI.
• Follows a double-blind, randomized controlled design with three distinct intervention arms for comparison.

Limitations

• Dataset is a 129.4 KB PDF protocol document, not the resulting clinical trial data, limiting immediate analytical use.
• The actual patient outcome data and neuroimaging results are not included in this file.
• Geographic scope is limited to four subcenters, potentially affecting generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Author Lina Pang, published on figshare.

Collection Method

Designed as a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial protocol.

Time Range

Trial includes a 1-week induction, 3-week treatment, and follow-ups at 8 and 20 weeks.

Freshness

Protocol was last updated on 2026-03-25.

Geography

Study involves four subcenters; specific locations not detailed.