Auricular Acupuncture as an Adjunctive Treatment for Cocaine Addiction: <i>A Pilot Study</i>

Abstract

The authors conducted a single‐blind study of auricular acupuncture in 36 cocaine‐dependent inpatient veterans on a substance abuse treatment unit to determine whether the treatment could help reduce craving, increase treatment retention, and prevent relapse. Acupuncture was given on a predetermined schedule to both treatment and control groups, with status assessed regularly by independent, blinded raters. The study failed to show a significant difference between treatment and control groups. However, the study patients, as a whole, did remain in treatment longer than a retrospectively analyzed group who received no acupuncture. (Am J Addict 1998; 7:164–170)