Integrating TCM in Rheumatology: New Evidence from a Randomized Trial

The article “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) collaborative care involving acupuncture for axial spondyloarthritis: 6-week exploratory results of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial” by Kwan et al. co authored by Marcel Bilger analyses the clinical effectiveness and safety of integrating TCM with standard care for active axial spondyloarthritis. In this trial, 139 patients were randomised to receive either usual care or additional TCM consultations and acupuncture. After six weeks, the intervention group showed small but statistically significant reductions in spinal pain and disease activity, along with improved disease-specific quality of life. However, these improvements did not reach clinically meaningful thresholds, and most secondary outcomes were not significant. Safety outcomes were comparable between groups, with only one adverse event in each, indicating that the combined approach is safe and potentially beneficial.