The majority of Norwegian patients with treatment-resistant chronic pain regained normal national health standards within 12 months after De-Qi acupuncture - a prospective observational propensity score matched study.

Purpose: In previous studies, acupuncture was effective in the treatment of patients with chronic pain that was unresponsive to conventional therapies. However, the proportion of patients in a real-world setting who regain normal health after 1 year, following De-Qi acupuncture is unknown. Methods: This is an observational prospective study of 354 new patients in a family medical practice between 2015 and 2018. Patients self-assessed pain using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and health using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) before treatment and at 3- and 12-months of follow-up. VAS and SF-36 components were compared for improvements and therapeutic effect sizes. Propensity score matching was employed to avoid bias by confounding variables. Results: The participation rate was 29%, median age 50 years (range 20-79), 65% were females, median pain duration was 18 months (6-360), the median number of acupuncture treatments was 6 (1-27). The initial VAS pain intensity of 6.2 (SD 2.5) improved to 4.0 at 3 months and 3.2 at 12 months ( Conclusion: In patients with chronic pain (median 18 months), who were unresponsive to conventional treatments, De-Qi acupuncture was associated with sustained pain reduction and health improvements. Most attained Norwegian national normal health standards (complete cure) after 12-months.