ACUPUNCTURE REDUCES PAIN AFTER BREAST SURGERY

Acupuncture is just as effective as the leading medication used to reduce nausea and vomiting after major breast surgery, according to a new study conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers. The 5,000-year-old Chinese practice also decreased postoperative pain in these women, they report. Based on strong trends emerging during the course of their ongoing clinical trial, the Duke researchers believe acupuncture is an effective anti-emetic (a drug that reduces nausea and vomiting) that is less expensive and has fewer side effects than medications currently used. Up to 70% of women, who undergo major breast surgery experience significant postoperative nausea and vomiting, so it is an important medical issue.

It has been known from previous studies that acupuncture can be an effective antiemetic when compared to placebo, but it had never before been tested against one of the most commonly used medications, Zofran. Acupuncture turns out to be just as effective as the drug or better, and patients also report much less pain after surgery—a surprising finding.

The Duke study enrolled 40 women who were undergoing major breast surgery requiring general anesthesia. Women were divided into three groups: one receiving acupuncture before the surgery, one receiving Zofran prior to surgery, and one receiving neither. The findings were that two hours following surgery, 23% of acupuncture patients reported nausea, compared to 36% for the drug and 69% for placebo. 7% of acupuncture patients reported vomiting two hours following surgery, compared to 7% who received Zofran and 23% who received placebo. After 24 hours, 23% of acupuncture patients reported vomiting compared to 28% for the drug and 46% for placebo. The most surprising findings involved the level of pain reported by the women, with 31% of acupuncture patients reporting moderate to severe pain two hours after surgery, compared to 64% for Zofran and 77% for placebo.

According to Chinese healing practices, there are about 360 specific points along 14 different lines, or meridians. The Chinese believe that our vital energy, known as chi, courses throughout the body along these meridians. While healthiness is a state where the chi is in balance, unhealthiness arises from either too much or too little chi, or blockage in the flow of the chi. By applying acupuncture to certain well-known points, the Chinese believe that they can bring the chi back into balance.

The Duke trial will continue with a total of 75 patients, at which point the results will be used as a basis of an application to the National Institutes of Health for a larger clinical trial. The researchers also will look to combine acupuncture with antiemetics to see if this combination of Eastern and Western approaches has greater effectiveness.