Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized clinical trial

Little is known about the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Here, we carried out a 4 week randomized clinical trial in which patients aged 6–12 years old with an ADHD diagnosis received TEAS or sham TEAS. The primary outcome measure was the investigator-rated Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score at week 4. Secondary outcomes included changes from baseline to week 4 in the investigator-rated Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) score, the Conners’ Parent/Teacher Rating Scales-Revised: Short Form (CPRS-R: S/CTRS-R: S) score, go/no-go task performance, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based oxygenated hemoglobin level within the prefrontal cortex. At week 4, the CGI-I score indicated improvement in 33.3% of the TEAS group compared with 7.7% of the sham group ( P = 0.005). The TEAS group had a greater decrease in the mean CGI-S score (−0.87) than the sham TEAS group (−0.28) ( P = 0.003). A greater enhancement in the mean cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin within the prefrontal cortex was found in the TEAS group (0.099 mM mm) compared with the sham TEAS group (0.005 mM mm) ( P