Acupuncture for Post-Thoracotomy Pain
Author Information
Author(s): Andrew J Vickers, Valerie W Rusch, Vivek T Malhotra, Robert J Downey, Barrie R Cassileth
Primary Institution: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Hypothesis
Can acupuncture be a feasible treatment for pain management after thoracotomy?
Conclusion
Acupuncture is a well-tolerated intervention for patients undergoing thoracotomy and meets the feasibility criteria for a randomized trial.
Supporting Evidence
- Thirty-six patients were treated with acupuncture, and 25 provided data at 30 days.
- The intervention was well tolerated with only one minor adverse event.
- The data completion rate met the predefined criterion for feasibility.
- Acupuncture did not interfere with standard preoperative care.
Takeaway
This study shows that acupuncture can help people feel better after surgery on their lungs, and most patients liked it.
Methodology
Adult patients scheduled for unilateral thoracotomy received acupuncture before surgery, and pain was assessed postoperatively using a numerical rating scale and the Brief Pain Inventory.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the single clinician conducting the trial and the open-label design.
Limitations
The study was a single-arm trial with a small sample size and limited generalizability.
Participant Demographics
Most participants were women in their 60s undergoing lobectomy for primary lung cancer.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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