A Malaysian retrospective study of acupuncture-assisted anesthesia in breast lump excision

Abstract

Introduction The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture-assisted anesthesia (AAA) in breast lump excision. Methods The medical records of all patients who underwent breast lump excision under AAA in combination with electrical stimulation at traditional acupuncture points in 2016 were examined. All of them (n = 17) received electrostimulation (2–4 Hz) using single needles inserted at bilateral LI4 and PC6. They also underwent insertion of four acupuncture needles at the lump site, which were electrically stimulated at 30 Hz frequency. Results All surgical procedures were successful with minimal use of analgesics and local anesthetic. The median pain score reported was 1/10 (interquartile range (IQR) = 2/10) at the first hour, and slightly increased to 2/10 (IQR = 2/10) between 24 and 48 h of the surgery. No major postoperative adverse events were documented, except for drowsiness in one case. Conclusion AAA was found to be generally safe and effective for anaesthesia and analgesia in breast lump excision. However, a large-scale randomized controlled study is required to verify the findings.

Effect Observation of Electro-Acupuncture Anesthesia Combined with General Anesthesia in Elderly Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Tumor Resection

“…During this period, severe hemodynamic abnormalities, severe stress response, obvious postoperative anesthesia side effects and high incidence of adverse reactions easily occur ( 7 , 8 ). Therefore, how to minimize the use of anesthetics and avoid the occurrence of postoperative adverse conditions when ensuring the anesthesia effect is a difficult problem to be solved in general anesthesia surgery for clinical elderly patients ( 9 , 10 ). Acupuncture analgesia has recently been a hot topic of academic research.…”

“…Compared with conventional acupuncture, EA is more effective and convenient, so EA is often used to assist anesthesia and analgesia in various surgical procedures. ( 10 , 11 ). It has been reported that in a variety of local anesthesia surgerys, EA can significantly enhance the perioperative analgesic effect, improve hemodynamic abnormalities, and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions after anesthesia.…”

Acupuncture-assisted anaesthesia for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation to reduce the consumption of morphine hydrochloride and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

“…The acupuncture protocol is based on previous clinical studies and case reports of acupuncture anaesthesia 9 16. During the ablation procedure, the patients will be placed in the supine position and will be asked to expose their left upper arm and wear an eye mask.…”

“…8 AAA is generally considered safe, with only mild adverse events (AEs), including haematoma, bleeding and pain. 9 It is an important part of multimodal non-opioid analgesia and has been applied to parturition, surgery and minimally invasive procedures. 10 11 Such analgesic effects might be mediated by encephalin and endorphin following the use of AAA with electrical stimulation.…”

“…Acupuncture-assisted anaesthesia (AAA) is a procedure in which anaesthetists combine acupuncture and anaesthetic techniques to enhance the sedative and analgesic effects of pharmaceuticals 8. AAA is generally considered safe, with only mild adverse events (AEs), including haematoma, bleeding and pain 9. It is an important part of multimodal non-opioid analgesia and has been applied to parturition, surgery and minimally invasive procedures 10 11.…”