Acupuncture improves certain aspects of sleep in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Background: High-dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is associated with a high symptom burden including sleep disturbance. Here we present the results of a secondary analysis of a randomized, sham-controlled trial assessing the effect of acupuncture on sleep quality during HSCT. Methods: Adult multiple myeloma patients undergoing inpatient and outpatient autologous HSCT were randomized and blinded to receive either true or sham acupuncture (by licensed acupuncturists) once daily for 5 days starting the day after chemotherapy. Sleep onset, total sleep time, sleep efficiency percentage and sleep-onset latency time were assessed using an actigraphy-based sleep monitor. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted to compare the average area-under-the-curve of five acupuncture intervention days for each sleep outcome between groups, adjusted by baseline score and inpatient or outpatient chemotherapy stratum. Results: Over 32 months, 63 patients were enrolled. Participants undergoing true acupuncture experienced a significant improvement in sleep efficiency when compared to sham (−6.70, 95% CI −13.15, −0.25, p = 0.042). Subgroup analysis showed that the improvement was more prominent in the inpatient setting (−9.62, 95% CI −18.76, −0.47; p = 0.040). True acupuncture tended to improve wake time after sleep onset (WASO; −10.95, p = 0.054). Between-group differences in other sleep related variables were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our data suggest that true acupuncture may improve certain aspects of sleep, including sleep efficiency and possibly WASO, in multiple myeloma patients undergoing HSCT. By studying patient reported outcomes in future larger scale studies, acupuncture’s role in improving sleep quality during HSCT treatment could be further elucidated. Trial registration number: NCT01811862 (ClinicalTrials.gov).