Ear acupuncture with laser and needles in the treatment of anxiety in university students: a randomized clinical trial.
Ana Paula da Silva Lemos, Bárbara Guimarães Lourenço, Érika de Cássia Lopes Chaves and 3 others
PMID 39869761WHAT IT FOUND
Laser and needle ear acupuncture produced similar anxiety reduction; neither was better than the other.
Both groups improved, gains lasted seven days, and laser had fewer local symptoms.
Key findings
01Anxiety scores fell in both groups from initial to final assessment, and remained lower at follow-up.
02There was no difference between needle and laser groups in anxiety at the final or follow-up assessments.
03Several local ear symptoms were more frequent and more intense with needles, but were rated mild.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants and assessors were not masked, and the needle group could be identified by visible needles. Only 106 of 126 randomised students completed the study. Follow-up was only seven days, so longer-term effects were not tested. The sample was university students, not patients recruited from clinical mental health services. The trial compared two active treatments and did not include a sham or no-treatment control. Respiratory rate was measured by observation, which the authors note may have been subject to evaluator interference.
Declared interests
Funded by FAPEMIG and CNPq; no company sponsor or conflict-of-interest statement is provided.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that laser is better for anxiety because it caused fewer local symptoms. The trial did not show one treatment was better than the other for anxiety; the difference was in discomfort, not anxiety reduction.