Effect of acupuncture and its influence on cerebral activity in patients with persistent asthma: study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial

Table 1 Study schedule

	Baseline	Allocation	Treatment phase
	Week 0	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6
Eligibility screen	√
Inclusion/exclusion criteria	√
Informed consent	√
Demographics	√
Medical history	√
Physical examination	√
Randomization		√
Interventions
Group A (acupuncture at lung meridian)			√	√	√	√
Group B (acupuncture at heart meridian)			√	√	√	√
fMRI scan
Group A (acupuncture at lung meridian)		√				√
Group B (acupuncture at heart meridian)		√				√
Assessments
AQLQ		√				√
ACT		√				√
PEF		√				√
SAS		√				√
SDS		√				√
MoCA		√				√
Participants safety
Laboratory test		√				√
Adverse events			√	√	√	√

Abbreviations: AQLQ Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, ACT Asthma Control Test, FEV₁ Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, MoCA Montreal Cognitive Assessment, PEF Peak expiratory flow rate, SAS Self-rating Anxiety Scale, SDS Self-rating Depression Scale

ISSN: 1745-6215