Table 3.
Secondary outcomes of the interventions.
| Variable | EA group (N = 47) | MFE group (N = 40) | P value& |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (95% CI) | Mean (95% CI) | ||
| Low back pain NRS | |||
| Week 2, change from baseline | 2.12 (1.59–2.66)∗ | 1.47 (0.89–2.05)∗ | 0.104‽ |
| Week 4, change from baseline | 2.23 (1.68–2.78)∗ | 1.65 (1.05–2.25)∗ | 0.158‽ |
| Week 16, change from baseline | 2.00 (1.54–2.46)∗ | 0.40 (−0.09–0.89)∗∗ | <0.001‽ |
| Week 28, change from baseline | 2.00 (1.55–2.45)∗ | 0.40 (−0.08–0.88)∗∗ | <0.001‽ |
| Total time points of weeks 1–28 | 0.072§ | ||
| ODI questionnaire | |||
| Week 2, change from baseline | 6.79 (4.35–9.23)∗ | 6.49 (3.85–9.13)∗ | 0.868‽ |
| Week 4, change from baseline | 12.34 (9.39–15.30)∗ | 6.65 (3.44–9.85)∗ | 0.011‽ |
| Week 16, change from baseline | 11.29 (8.55–14.04)∗ | 3.63 (0.66–6.60)∗ | <0.001‽ |
| Week 28, change from baseline | 10.95 (8.42–13.47)∗ | 1.87 (−0.86–4.61)∗ | <0.001‽ |
| Total time points of weeks 1–28 | 0.001§ | ||
|
| |||
| Patient global impression, number (%) | |||
| Week 2 | Great: 3 (6.4%), moderate: 15 (31.9%) little: 24 (51.1%), no: 5 (10.6%) | Great: 2 (5%), moderate: 9 (22.5%), little: 22 (55.0%), no: 7 (17.5%) | 0.665# |
| Week 4 | Great: 7 (14.9%), moderate: 23 (48.9%), little: 11 (23.4%), no: 6 (12.8%) | Great: 2 (5%), moderate: 13 (32.5%) little: 18 (45.0%), no: 7 (17.5%) | 0.073# |
|
| |||
| Drug use frequency, number (%) | |||
| Week 2 | 0 times: 42 (89.4%), 1–3 times: 3 (6.4%) 4–6 times: 1 (2.1%), 7–9 times: 1 (2.1%) |
0 times: 33 (82.5%), 1–3 times: 3 (7.5%) 4–6 times: 4 (10.0%), 7–9 times: 0, |
0.28# |
| Week 4 | 0 times: 44 (93.6%), 1–3 times: 2 (4.3%) 4–6: times 1 (2.1%), 7–9 times: 0 |
0 times: 36 (90.0%), 1–3 times: 2 (5.0%) 4–6 times: 2 (5.0%), 7–9 times: 0 |
0.749# |
|
| |||
| Treatment acceptance assessment, number (%) | Little difficult: 0, Moderate: 14 (29.8%), Easy: 16 (34%), Very easy: 17 (36.2%) |
Little difficult: 0, Moderate: 11 (27.5%), Easy: 18 (45.0%), Very easy: 11 (27.5%) |
0.055# |
NRS: numerical rating scale; EA: electroacupuncture; MFE: medium-frequency electrotherapy; CI: confidence intervals.
#Chi-squared test; ∗∗P value compared to baseline > 0.05; ∗P value compared to baseline < 0.05.
‽ T-tests; & indicates P value for the between-group comparison; §a repeated measures analysis of variance secondary outcomes analysis was done only with complete cases.