Faculty of 1000 evaluation for Randomized controlled pilot trial of nifedipine as oral therapy vs topical application in the treatment of fissure-in-ano.

Abstract Background Acupuncture is widely used for pain diseases while evidence of its efficacy for sciatica is insufficient. We aim to explore the feasibility and efficacy of acupuncture with different acupoint selecting strategies for sciatica induced by lumbar disc herniation. Methods This is a multicenter, three-arm, patient-assessor-blinded randomized controlled pilot trial. Ninety patients will be assigned randomly into 3 groups including disease-affected meridians (DAM) group, non-affected meridians (NAM) group, and sham acupuncture (SA) group in a 1:1:1 ratio. The trial involves a 4-week treatment along with follow-up for 22 weeks. The primary outcome is the change of leg pain intensity measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS) from baseline to week 4 after randomization. Secondary outcomes include functional status, back pain intensity, and quality of life. Adverse events will also be recorded. Discussion The results will inspire the optimal acupuncture strategy for sciatica and help establish a better design as well as power calculation for a full-scale study. Trial registration ChiCTR2000030680 (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, http://www.chictr.org.cn, registered on 9 March 2020).

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‘Tracking Together’—Simultaneous Use of Human and Dog Activity Trackers: Protocol for a Factorial, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041561 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1561

Author(s):

Wasantha Jayawardene ◽

Lesa Huber ◽

Jimmy McDonnell ◽

Laurel Curran ◽

Sarah Larson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Pilot Trial ◽

Activity Level ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Moderate Intensity ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Activity Trackers ◽

Dog Owners ◽

Simultaneous Use

Dog-walkers are more likely to achieve moderate-intensity physical activity. Linking the use of activity trackers with dog-walking may be beneficial both in terms of improving the targeted behavior and increasing the likelihood of sustained use. This manuscript aims to describe the protocol of a pilot study which intends to examine the effects of simultaneous use of activity trackers by humans and their dogs on the physical activity level of humans and dogs. This study uses nonprobability sampling of dog owners of age 25–65 (N = 80) and involves four parallel groups in an observational randomized controlled trial with a 2 × 2 factorial design, based on use of dog or human activity trackers for eight weeks. Each group consists of dog-human duos, in which both, either or none are wearing an activity tracker for eight weeks. At baseline and end, all human subjects wear ActiGraph accelerometers that quantify physical activity for one week. Commercial activity trackers are used for tracking human and dog activity remotely. Additional measures for humans are body composition and self-reported physical activity. Dog owners also report dog’s weight and physical activity using a questionnaire. A factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is used to compare physical activity across the four groups from baseline to week-10.

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