Use of acupuncture in the management of chronic haemophilia pain

. Persons with haemophilia experience persistent pain resulting in chronic arthritic symptoms. The older person with haemophilia who did not benefit from primary prophylaxis are particularly at risk for persistent pain in multiple target joints as a result of repeated joint bleeding with delayed treatment received. The National Pain Study, Ref. [11] identified over 700 persons with haemophilia who rated daily persistent pain as 4.22/10 (SD +/- 2.05) using a visual analogue scale. The study suggests that persons are continually seeking additional resources to relieve pain. This study seeks to identify: (i) effects of acupuncture use for persons with haemophilia who experience persistent joint pain as a result of repeated haemarthrosis and (ii) document no reported increased bleeding risk as a result of acupuncture use. End points include the subjects reported perception of reduction in pain via the 10-point visual analogue pain scale and bleeding. Nine subjects participated in the study, some who received a factor replacement to 15% correction and others who did not receive factor prior to any acupuncture sessions totaling 14 acupuncture treatments. No one of the subjects experienced bleeding or bruising. Six of the nine subjects reported an improvement in pain scores by at least 50%. Seven of the nine quality of life (QOL) domains within the QOL SF-36 questionnaire improved, suggesting a perception by subjects of improvement. This study suggests that acupuncture therapy can be a safe additional modality for pain management therapies in persons with haemophilia, although larger randomized studies are needed for further validation.