Acupuncture Improved the Function of the Lower Esophageal Sphincter and Esophageal Motility in Chinese Patients with Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Symptoms: A Randomized Trial

Table 1

Baseline characteristics of the acupuncture group and the control group.

Characteristic	Acupuncture group ()	Control group ()	-value
Age (years)-mean (SD)			0.670
Gender (N/%)
Male	16 (48.48%)	19 (54.28%)	0.632
Female	17 (51.52%)	16 (45.71%)	0.632
Body mass index (mean/SD)			0.846
Risk factors (N/%)
Hypertension	3 (33.33%)	7 (20.00%)	0.204
Diabetes	1 (3.03%)	0 (0.00%)	0.299
Hyperlipidaemia	2 (6.06%)	3 (8.57%)	0.692
Cigarette smoking	4 (12.12%)	5 (14.28%)	0.792
Alcohol consumption	2 (6.06%)	2 (5.71%)	0.952
Typical symptoms (N/%)
Acid reflux	15 (45.45%)	22 (62.86%)	0.150
Heartburn	14 (42.42%)	14 (40.00%)	0.839
Accompanied atypical symptoms (N/%)
Pharyngeal discomfort	19 (57.57%)	16 (45.71%)	0.328
Chest pain	9 (27.27%)	12 (34.29%)	0.532
Retrosternal discomfort	12 (36.36%)	7 (20.00%)	0.133
GERD Q (mean/SD)			0.076
Endoscopic findings (N/%)
RE	7 (21.21%)	8 (22.86%)	0.870
BE	0 (0.00%)	2 (5.71%)	0.157
Hiatus hernia	1 (3.03%)	0 (0.0%)	0.299
24-hour pH monitoring
Percentage time (%) (median/IQR)	7.90 (5.10, 13.40)	8.15 (4.80, 15.60)	0.438
DeMeester score (median/IQR)	21.60 (14.70, 26.40)	22.30 (16.10, 29.50)	0.585