The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

<h4>Background</h4>Postoperative pain resulting from surgical trauma is a significant challenge for healthcare providers. Opioid analgesics are commonly used to treat postoperative pain; however, these drugs are associated with a number of undesirable side effects.<h4>Objective<...

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Main Authors: Ming-Shun Wu, Kee-Hsin Chen, I-Fan Chen, Shihping Kevin Huang, Pei-Chuan Tzeng, Mei-Ling Yeh, Fei-Peng Lee, Jaung-Geng Lin, Chiehfeng Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150367&type=printable
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author Ming-Shun Wu
Kee-Hsin Chen
I-Fan Chen
Shihping Kevin Huang
Pei-Chuan Tzeng
Mei-Ling Yeh
Fei-Peng Lee
Jaung-Geng Lin
Chiehfeng Chen
author_facet Ming-Shun Wu
Kee-Hsin Chen
I-Fan Chen
Shihping Kevin Huang
Pei-Chuan Tzeng
Mei-Ling Yeh
Fei-Peng Lee
Jaung-Geng Lin
Chiehfeng Chen
author_sort Ming-Shun Wu
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Postoperative pain resulting from surgical trauma is a significant challenge for healthcare providers. Opioid analgesics are commonly used to treat postoperative pain; however, these drugs are associated with a number of undesirable side effects.<h4>Objective</h4>This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupuncture-related techniques in treating postoperative pain.<h4>Data source</h4>MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched until Sep 30, 2014.<h4>Study eligibility criteria</h4>Randomized controlled trials of adult subjects (≥ 18 years) who had undergone surgery and who had received acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or acupoint electrical stimulation for managing acute post-operative pain were included.<h4>Results</h4>We found that patients treated with acupuncture or related techniques had less pain and used less opioid analgesics on Day 1 after surgery compared with those treated with control (P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis using the leave-one-out approach indicated the findings are reliable and are not dependent on any one study. In addition, no publication bias was detected. Subgroup analysis indicated that conventional acupuncture and transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) were associated with less postoperative pain one day following surgery than control treatment, while electroacupuncture was similar to control (P = 0.116). TEAS was associated with significantly greater reduction in opioid analgesic use on Day 1 post surgery than control (P < 0.001); however conventional acupuncture and electroacupuncture showed no benefit in reducing opioid analgesic use compared with control (P ≥ 0.142).<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our findings indicate that certain modes of acupuncture improved postoperative pain on the first day after surgery and reduced opioid use. Our findings support the use of acupuncture as adjuvant therapy in treating postoperative pain.
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spelling doaj-art-60dfabc2f8da4a83aca69fb6fb56325c2025-08-20T03:24:52ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01113e015036710.1371/journal.pone.0150367The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Ming-Shun WuKee-Hsin ChenI-Fan ChenShihping Kevin HuangPei-Chuan TzengMei-Ling YehFei-Peng LeeJaung-Geng LinChiehfeng Chen<h4>Background</h4>Postoperative pain resulting from surgical trauma is a significant challenge for healthcare providers. Opioid analgesics are commonly used to treat postoperative pain; however, these drugs are associated with a number of undesirable side effects.<h4>Objective</h4>This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupuncture-related techniques in treating postoperative pain.<h4>Data source</h4>MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched until Sep 30, 2014.<h4>Study eligibility criteria</h4>Randomized controlled trials of adult subjects (≥ 18 years) who had undergone surgery and who had received acupuncture, electroacupuncture, or acupoint electrical stimulation for managing acute post-operative pain were included.<h4>Results</h4>We found that patients treated with acupuncture or related techniques had less pain and used less opioid analgesics on Day 1 after surgery compared with those treated with control (P < 0.001). Sensitivity analysis using the leave-one-out approach indicated the findings are reliable and are not dependent on any one study. In addition, no publication bias was detected. Subgroup analysis indicated that conventional acupuncture and transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) were associated with less postoperative pain one day following surgery than control treatment, while electroacupuncture was similar to control (P = 0.116). TEAS was associated with significantly greater reduction in opioid analgesic use on Day 1 post surgery than control (P < 0.001); however conventional acupuncture and electroacupuncture showed no benefit in reducing opioid analgesic use compared with control (P ≥ 0.142).<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our findings indicate that certain modes of acupuncture improved postoperative pain on the first day after surgery and reduced opioid use. Our findings support the use of acupuncture as adjuvant therapy in treating postoperative pain.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150367&type=printable
spellingShingle Ming-Shun Wu
Kee-Hsin Chen
I-Fan Chen
Shihping Kevin Huang
Pei-Chuan Tzeng
Mei-Ling Yeh
Fei-Peng Lee
Jaung-Geng Lin
Chiehfeng Chen
The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
PLoS ONE
title The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_full The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_fullStr The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_full_unstemmed The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_short The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Post-Operative Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_sort efficacy of acupuncture in post operative pain management a systematic review and meta analysis
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150367&type=printable
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