Abstract
Background
Acupuncture is one of the oldest techniques to treat pain and is commonly used for
a large number of indications. However, there is no sufficient evidence to support
its application in acute medical settings.
Methods
This was a prospective, randomized trial of acupuncture vs morphine to treat ED patients
with acute onset moderate to severe pain.
Primary outcome consists of the degree of pain relief with significant pain reduction
defined as a pain score reduction ≥50% of its initial value. We also analyzed the
pain reduction time and the occurrence of short-term adverse effects. We included
in the protocol 300 patients with acute pain: 150 in each group.
Results
Success rate was significantly different between the 2 groups (92% in the acupuncture
group vs 78% in the morphine group P < .001). Resolution time was 16 ± 8 minutes in the acupuncture group vs 28 ± 14 minutes in the morphine group (P < .005). Overall, 89 patients (29.6%) experienced minor adverse effects: 85 (56.6%)
in morphine group and 4 (2.6%) in acupuncture group (P < .001). No major adverse effects were recorded during the study protocol. In patients
with acute pain presenting to the ED, acupuncture was associated with more effective
and faster analgesia with better tolerance.
Conclusion
This article provides an update on one of the oldest pain relief techniques (acupuncture)
that could find a central place in the management of acute care settings. This should
be considered especially in today's increasingly complicated and polymedicated patients
to avoid adverse drug reactions.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 20, 2016
Accepted:
July 17,
2016
Received in revised form:
July 16,
2016
Received:
May 16,
2016
Footnotes
☆Study registration: The protocol was registered at clinicaltrials.gov under: NCT02460913.
☆☆Funding: The authors declare that no funding sources were provided.
★Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
★★Author contributions: HB and SN conceived the study, and designed the trial. SN, HB, WB, RB, MHG, HB, and KB supervised the conduct of the trial and data collection. HB was the acupuncturist of the study. HB, NB, NF, and MAM undertook recruitment of patients and managed the data, including quality control. SN, HB, NB, and MHG performed statistical analysis and analyzed the data. SN drafted the manuscript. HB and NB revised the manuscript. SN takes the responsibility for the paper as a whole. This study was supported in part by the Tunisian Ministry of Scientific Research.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
