The Role of Acupuncture in Anesthesia

Acupuncture is increasingly being incorporated into the healthcare system. Acupuncture and related techniques are increasingly practiced in conventional medical settings, with more open attitudes toward them.Consequently, the number of patients willing to use these techniques-or even specifically request them-will likely increase. Despite more than 50 yr of research, the exact mechanism of action and efficacy of acupuncture have yet to be established. Furthermore, most aspects of acupuncture have yet to be adequately tested. Therefore considerable controversy remains about the role of acupuncture in clinical medicine.Aim of the study:Acupuncture does not seem to reduce the requirement for volatile anesthetic, at least not by a clinically important amount. Preoperative sedation seems to be a promising application of acupuncture in perioperative settings, but more studies are required before this technique can be recommended for routine use.In contrast, several high-quality studies have demonstrated substantial effectiveness of acupuncture for postoperative pain relief; however, this issue still remains controversial. Acupuncture may be effective for postoperative pain relief but probably requires a higher level of expertise and training of the acupuncture practitioner than is generally available.Enough evidence has also accumulated to introduce acupuncture and related techniques for treatment and prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting in routine clinical practice in combination with or as an alternative to conventional antiemetics. However, antiemetic acupuncture seems to be effective only when administered before induction of general anesthesia.Some promising applications of acupuncture in the perioperative setting could be treatment of postoperative ileus, postextubation laryngospasm, and correction of hemodynamic instability. However, further research will be required to clarify the role of acupuncture in the treatment of these conditions.