The effect of acupuncture on pain score after open kidney surgery.

BACKGROUND: The pain after nephrectomy, just as any other surgery, is one of the problems that surgeons confront. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relieving effect of acupuncture on the pain experienced after nephrectomy. METHODS: This was a clinical trial that was performed on 30 patients with mean age of 40.8 ± 12.54 who were candidates for nephrectomy. After matching for gender and age, the patients were divided into either acupuncture or control group. In acupuncture group, four points were stimulated for 30 minutes, and in control group, other points were stimulated ineffectively for 30 min. Then, the pain experienced in the first six hours after the surgery was registered by a blind observer based on visual analog scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and the t-test. RESULTS: Our results showed that the severity of pain in the acupuncture group was significantly lower than that in the control group. Also, there were six patients who required opioids in the acupuncture group, but there were 12 such patients in the control group. The mean opiate used in the control group was significantly greater than the mean for the acupuncture group. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture can reduce the severity of pain and the demand for opioids in patients who have undergone nephrectomy.

A sham-controlled trial of acupuncture as an adjunct in migraine prophylaxis.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is one of the most common types of headache, with significant socioeconomic effects. Prophylactic drugs are used to prevent migraine headaches but are unpromising. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of adding acupuncture to conventional migraine prophylaxis. METHODS: One hundred patients with migraine (41 male, 59 female), in whom prophylactic drugs had not produced a fall of at least 50% in the number of attacks, entered the study. The patients were randomised into two groups, sham and true acupuncture. The patients in both groups continued their prophylactic treatment and received 12 sessions of either true or sham acupuncture. Each session was 30 min and was repeated three times a week. The number of headaches in the two groups was compared at baseline, and at the end of four successive months. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the frequency of attacks between the two groups before intervention. After 1 month, the frequency of attacks each month decreased from 5.1 (0.8) to 3.4 (1.2) in the true acupuncture group, and from 5.0 (0.8) to 4.4 (1.1) in the sham acupuncture group (a significant difference, p<0.001). The frequency continued to decrease in month 2 but increased in months 3 and 4; however, it was still significantly lower than baseline, and the difference remained significant after month 4. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture is applicable as an adjunct to prophylactic drugs in migraineurs in whom the number of attacks does not fall with prophylactic medication.

The effect of acupuncture on relieving pain after inguinal surgeries.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pain is one of the most prevalent and bothersome issues found in the surgical department. Nowadays, there are various methods of acupuncture used for relieving pain without the complications found in some routine postoperative analgesics. These methods could be especially useful for high risk patients prone to complications from analgesics, such as transplantation recipients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of electro-acupuncture on postoperative pain control after inguinal surgeries. METHODS: Ninety male patients, who were referred to our department with indications of inguinal surgery, were included in the study and randomly divided into two groups, such as acupuncture and control. We used electro-acupuncture for the acupuncture group and no actual acupuncture (but placed needle electrodes similar to the acupuncture group) for the control group. Postoperative pain was quantified by a blind observer in both groups using a visual analogue scale (VAS) standard score before being compared. RESULTS: Pain intensity and analgesic use were significantly higher in the control group (P < 0.05). In the acupuncture group, the VAS pain scores were significantly lower than the control group at 0.5, 1 and 2 hours post operation. When the opioid related side effects were compared for each group, the results showed that the number of subjects who experienced dizziness in the acupuncture group was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture in patients, after inguinal surgery, can reduce the need of analgesics, which also directly reduces the complications that may occur when analgesics are used in relieving pain postoperatively.