Database: Study 10 of 26 studies              Database Hip - TEAS First author and date Fargas-Babjak A 1989 Version consulted C Condition osteoarthritic pain of hip/knee Study type DB PC RCT N / Groupings 37 / [A] CODETRON (19) vs [B] sham CODETRON (18) Type of acupuncture TEAS Points used BL-40 (popliteal nerve), BL-60 (sural nerve), GB-30 (sciatic nerve), GB-34 (peroneal and recurrent articular nerves), LI-4 (interosseous muscle), ST-36 (tibialis anterior muscle), SP-9 (tibial nerve), SP-13 (femoral nerve), Du-4, Du-14, plus 3 tender points Parameters used 4 Hz 125 msec bursts (internal frequency 200 Hz, 1 msec), intensity unknown [CODETRON home care unit]; sham: 0.2 Hz at 0.5 mA Stimulation duration 30 mins Number of sessions twice daily for 6 wks. Follow up 3 mths Endpoint measure pain intensity VAS Outcome 74% in the real Codetron group (A) and 28% in sham Codetron group (B) improved their pain VAS more than 25% (p<0.02 using Fisher’s exact probability ratio) Additional notes other functional parameters proved to be insensitive to change in this study Analysis / problems unclear whether medication and activities controlled, and whether patients had knee or hip, or knee and hip pain [Aubin/Marks]; could be argued that placebo was not strictly placebo References Fargas-Babjak A, Rooney P, Gerecz E Randomized trial of Codetron for pain control in osteoarthritis of the hip/knee. Clinical Journal of Pain. 1989 June; 5(2): 137-41 Secondary references [additional comments from: Aubin M, Marks R The efficacy of short-term treatment with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for osteo-arthritic knee pain. Physiotherapy. 1995 Nov; 81(11): 669-75] Data entry code GG-mu30/P17