A Randomized Controlled Trial
of Auricular Acupuncture
for Cocaine Dependence

S. Kelly Avants, PhD; Arthur Margolin, PhD; Theodore R. Holford, PhD; Thomas R. Kosten, MD

Background

Partly because of a lack of a conventional, effective treatment for cocaine addiction, auricular acupuncture is used to treat this disorder in numerous drug treatment facilities across the country for both primary cocaine-dependent and opiate-dependent populations.

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture for the treatment of cocaine addiction.

Methods

Eighty-two cocaine-dependent, methadone-maintained patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: auricular acupuncture, a needle-insertion control condition, or a no-needle relaxation control. Treatment sessions were provided 5 times weekly for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was cocaine use assessed by 3-times-weekly urine toxicology screens.

Results

Longitudinal analysis of the urine data for the intent-to-treat sample showed that patients assigned to acupuncture were significantly more likely to provide cocaine-negative urine samples relative to both the relaxation control (odds ratio, 3.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-8.72; P = .01) and the needle-insertion control (odds ratio, 2.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-5.75; P = .05).

Conclusions
Findings from the current study suggest that acupuncture shows promise for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Further investigation of this treatment modality appears to be warranted.

Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:2305-2312

Author/Article Information

From the Division of Substance Abuse, Department of Psychiatry (Drs Avants, Margolin, and Kosten), and Division of Biostatistics, School of Epidemiology and Public Health (Dr Holford), Yale University School of Medicine, and Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare Center (Dr Kosten), New Haven.

Reprints: Arthur Margolin, PhD, Substance Abuse Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park St, New Haven, CT 06519 (e-mail: arthur.margolin@yale.edu).

Accepted for publication February 28, 2000.

This study was supported by grants DA08513, DA00277, DA09241, and P50-DA09241 from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

Acupuncture needles for this study were donated by Seirin Co Ltd, Shimizu-City, Japan.

We thank Stephen Birch, PhD, for contributing his expertise and knowledge regarding acupuncture practice and theory to this project.