Articles

Acupuncture Reduces Pain, Need for Opioids after Surgery

DURHAM, N.C. – Using acupuncture before and during surgery significantly reduces the level of pain and the amount of potent painkillers needed by patients after the surgery is over, according to Duke University Medical Center anesthesiologists who combined data from 15 small randomized acupuncture clinical trials.
"While the amount of opioids needed for patients who received acupuncture was much lower than those who did not have acupuncture, the most important outcome for the patient is the reduction of the side effects associated with opioids," said Tong Joo (T.J.) Gan, M.D., a Duke anesthesiologist who presented the results of the analysis at the annual scientific conference of the American Society for Anesthesiology in San Francisco. "These side effects can negatively impact a patient's recovery from surgery and lengthen the time spent in the hospital."
Based on the results of this analysis, Gan recommends that acupuncture should be considered a viable option for pain control in surgery patients.
Patients who received acupuncture had significantly lower risk of developing most common side effects associated with opioid drugs compared with control: 1.5 times lower rates of nausea, 1.3 times fewer incidences of severe itching, 1.6 times fewer reports of dizziness and 3.5 times fewer cases of urinary retention.
Opioids are a class of medications that act on the body much like morphine. While they are effective in controlling pain, the side effects of the drugs often influence a patient's recovery from, and satisfaction with, their surgery, Gan said.
The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that acupuncture can play an effective role in improving the quality of the surgical experience, Gan added. Numerous studies, some conducted by Gan, have demonstrated that acupuncture can also be more effective than current medications in lessening the occurrence of post operative nausea and vomiting, the most common side effect experienced by patients after surgery.
"Acupuncture is slowly becoming more accepted by American physicians, but it is still underutilized," Gan said. "Studies like this, which show that there is a benefit to using it, should help give physicians sitting on the fence the data they need to integrate acupuncture into their routine care of surgery patients."
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POST NATAL ACUPUNCTURE

JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE • NUMBER 77 • FEBRUARY 2005
By Debra Betts

Abstract
Traditional Chinese medicine has very firm ideas on the
amount of care and rest appropriate to the first month
or longer after childbirth that contrast with the modern
emphasis on returning to normal activities within a
week or two. Recovery after childbirth can be promoted
by appropriate tonifying acupuncture treatments and
dietary advice. Furthermore specific problems post-birth,
for example persistent uterine bleeding, afterpains, night
sweats, perineal discomfort, breast feeding problems and
postnatal depression can all be helped with acupuncture.
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Acupuncture Is Underutilized in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Leanna J. Standish, ND, PhD, LAc
Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington
Leila Kozak, PhD
Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington
Sean Congdon, ND
Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington

Acupuncture is a complementary and alternative medical modality.A considerable body of acupuncture research has accumulated since 1998. Acupuncture has been integrated into palliative care settings in the United Kingdom but is yet to be widely offered in the United States. The literature was searched to identify clinical trials involving acupuncture, palliative care,hospice, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bone marrow,and cancer. Twenty-seven randomized controlled clinical trials of acupuncture were found that reported on conditions common to the hospice and palliative care setting, including dyspnea,nausea and vomiting, pain, and xerostomia, and 23 reported statistically significant results favoring acupuncture use for the conditions investigated. Acupuncture is safe and clinically cost-effective for management of common symptoms in palliative care and hospicepatients. Acupuncture has potential as adjunctive care in palliative and end-of-life care, and the evidence warrants its inclusion in reimbursed palliative and end-of-life care in the United States.
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