Acupoint Embedding of Polyglactin 910 Sutures in Patients with Chronic Pain due to Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial
Table 2
Primary outcome measures.
Outcome Measure
SAE (n = 34)
MAPE (n = 34)
DAPE (n = 34)
Tukey’s comparison
MAPE vs. SAE
DAPE vs. SAE
DAPE vs. MAPE
Diff. (95% CI)
P
Diff. (95% CI)
P
Diff. (95% CI)
P
Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Mean ± SD
Baseline
6.1 ± 0.6
5.5 ± 1.0
5.4 ± 1.8
−0.6 (−1.2 to 0.0)
>.05
−0.6 (−1.2 to 0.0)
>.05
−0.0 (−0.7 to 0.6)
>.05
T 1w
5.8 ± 0.9
4.2 ± 1.2
3.7 ± 1.4
−1.5 (−2.2 to −0.9)
<.001
−2.1 (−2.7 to −1.4)
<.001
−0.5 (−1.2 to 0.1)
>.05
T 2w
6.2 ± 1.1
3.0 ± 1.0
2.5 ± 1.5
−3.3 (−3.9 to −2.6)
<.001
−3.7 (−4.4 to −3.1)
<.001
−0.4 (−1.1 to 0.2)
>.05
T 3w
5.9 ± 0.8
2.5 ± 1.2
1.6 ± 0.7
−3.4 (−4.0 to −2.7)
<.001
−4.2 (−4.9 to −3.6)
<.001
−0.9 (−1.5 to −0.3)
<.01
F 4w
5.8 ± 0.8
2.9 ± 1.1
2.4 ± 1.5
−2.9 (−3.5 to −2.2)
<.001
−3.4 (−4.0 to −2.8)
<.001
−0.5 (−1.2 to 0.1)
>.05
F 10w
6.0 ± 0.9
2.2 ± 0.7
2.2 ± 0.5
−3.8 (−4.4 to −3.2)
<.001
−3.8 (−4.4 to −3.2)
<.001
0.0 (−0.6 to 0.6)
>.05
P(t)
0.109
<.001
<.001
NA
SAE, sham acupoint embedding group; MAPE, middle-layer (the semispinalis capitis muscle layer) PGLA embedding group; DAPE, deep-layer (the multifidus muscle layer) PGLA embedding group; CI, confidence interval; NA, not applicable. 1w, 1 week; 2w, 2 weeks; and 3w, 3 weeks; 4w, 4 weeks; 10w, 10 weeks; T, treatment; F, follow-up. P(t) refers to the p-values between different treatment time points.
