Acupuncture Treatment for Active Crohn's Disease

Inclusion Criteria: 1. meet the diagnostic criteria of Crohn's disease; 2. age 16-70 years old; 3. patients with mild or moderate disease (150\<CDAI\<450) and evidence of active inflammation: serum C-reactive protein concentration ≥5 mg/L, fecal calprotectin concentration ≥250 μg/g, or obvious endoscopic evidence of ulcerations during the screening period of past 4 weeks; 4. patients who were not responsive, intolerant, dependent, or refused to use any one of the following medications: mesalazine, glucocorticoid, immunomodulator (azathioprine, methotrexate), and anti-TNF-α agents; 5. did not take or take one or more of the following drugs: prednisone \<15 mg/d for at least one month, azathioprine (\<1 mg/kg/d), methotrexate (\<15 mg/week), or mesalazine (\<4 g/d) for at least 3 months; 6. no history of use of anti-TNF-alpha or other biological agents within 3 months immediately preceding the enrolment in the study; 7. no previous history of receiving acupuncture; 8. provision of written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnant or lactating women, and those desirous of conceiving in the near future; 2. patients with severe organic diseases; 3. patients with mental illness; 4. patients receiving antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, traditional Chinese medicine, or other drugs; 5. patients with multiple comorbid conditions that require long-term therapy with drugs, which may affect the outcome measures; 6. patients with severe extraintestinal manifestations, such as severe skin diseases, eye diseases, or thromboembolic diseases; 7. severe intestinal fistula, abdominal abscess, intestinal stenosis and intestinal obstruction, perianal abscess, gastrointestinal bleeding, bowel perforation, or other complications; 8. patients with short bowel syndrome; 9. patients with a history of abdominal or gastrointestinal surgery in the past six months; 10. patients with skin diseases or defects at the sites of acupuncture that prevents the application of acupuncture.