Moving Acupuncture to the Frontline of Military Medical Care: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Background: Currently, opioids are the predominately prescribed treatment for wounded warriors being transported by the United States Air Force aeromedical evacuation system. Objective: It is not known whether Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA), a type of ear acupuncture, would be an acceptable and utile therapy for patients and medical staff for pain control in the aeromedical evacuation system. The primary aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of introducing BFA into the aeromedical evacuation system. Design and Setting: This was a feasibility and observational study involving patients with pain who were treated with BFA while being transported by the aeromedical evacuation system from the Landsthul Regional Medical Center (LRMC), in Landstuhl, Germany, to Joint Base Andrews ( JBA), in Maryland. Participants: The participants were patients with pain who were being transported from LRMC to JBA and nurses and physicians providing the BFA treatment for these patients. Intervention: The intervention was BFA. Main Outcome Measures: The outcome sought was knowledge of the feasibility and acceptability of BFA trial among the medical staff members and the patients. Results: It was feasible to train nurses without any previous acupuncture knowledge or skills to implement BFA. In addition, medical staff members stated that the trial did not interfere with their preflight duties or during the flight. Patients reported an average pain rating of 4.07 before BFA and pain scores 1 hour post treatment and post flight of 2.17 and 2.76, respectively ( p < 000.1).

Does Ear Acupuncture Have a Role for Pain Relief in the Emergency Setting? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…28,29 The studied conditions included mixed pain types (2 studies), migraine (2 studies), hip fractures, lowback pain, sore throats, and biliary colic. The most frequent forms of ear acupuncture were BFA (4 studies) 28,[30][31][32] and ear acupuncture using a point finder (skin conduction and algometer; 2 studies). 33,34 ( Fig.…”

“…16 In the UOBS using acupuncture as-an-adjunct, 62% of respondents said that they ''would have the same treatment again,'' while 71% reported that they were either mostly satisfied or very satisfied. 30 Adverse effects. Adverse events were only specifically measured in 2 of the 8 studies, with 1 documenting minor pain for 2 participants 28 and nil in the other.…”

“…Four studies specified that the practitioner delivering the acupuncture utilized nonacupuncturists trained in the specific prescription alone. 16,28,30,32 Five studies specified the use of semipermanent needles that were retained >24 hours. [30][31][32][33][34][35] (Fig.…”

“…The time required to apply ear acupuncture was specified for 6 of the 8 studies and ranged from 2 to 10 minutes. 16,39,30,[32][33][34] Three studies quoted actual costs of consumables as < $5 USD/per patient. 16,31,32 and ''low cost'' was also mentioned by another study.…”

Innovations in the En Route Care of Combat Casualties

“…Battlefi eld acupuncture, which consists of acupuncture to the ear, was shown to be a feasible technique to be performed within the ERC system. Patients reported an average pain rating of 4.07 before battlefi eld acupuncture and pain scores 1-hr posttreatment and postfl ight of 2.17 and 2.76, respectively ( p Ͻ 000.1; Burns et al, 2013).…”