1. Acupuncture as an Effective Method for Pain Management in Post-Op Care
Elizabeth Hartman, PhD, RN, Margaret Severance MSN, RN DePaul University School of Nursing
Introduction
Nursing Considerations
Results
Post-operative pain is an inevitable part of surgery and pain control is a crucial element of patient care and satisfaction in post-op management.
Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in the clinical setting for pain management and control and its therapeutic indications are well recognized by WHO.
With opioid analgesics being the primary source of pain management, unwanted side effects decrease patient satisfaction and hinder the healing process, while also increasing the risk of addiction.
The increase of opioid addiction and use, along with successful clinical trails of pain management by acupuncture, warrants a look at other modalities to manage pain.
As non-traditional methods become more popular, it is important for the health care team to be knowledgeable and have availability to treatments such as acupuncture.
Nursing roles go beyond bed-side care, and include educating the patient to the possible ways they can increase their quality of life.
Opioid related side-effects, such as dizziness, was significantly lower in the number of subjects in the acupuncture group than the control group, while pain intensity and analgesic use was significantly higher in the control group.
Laparoscopic Surgery: Individualized acupuncture treatments per traditional Chinese medicine principles improve post-laparoscopic shoulder pain and general pain when used in conjunction with conventional therapy.
Back Surgery: Significant improvements in pain intensity for 24 hours after surgery and significant improvements in post-op opiate dose demands.
Inguinal Surgery: Pain intensity and analgesic use were significantly higher in the control group, while in the acupuncture group, the VAS pain scores were significantly lower than the control group.
These studies verify the importance for health care providers to look at non-opioid pain control, specifically using acupuncture in the postoperative setting.
Purpose
Conclusion
To determine whether acupuncture provides efficient pain management in post-operative care.
The studies reviewed have conclusively resulted in a positive evaluation of acupuncture treatment in the post-operative management of pain.
More controlled studies are necessary to create a better understanding of the benefits of acupuncture in the post-operative setting.
Comprehensive and holistic care may decrease the economic burden that can come with reliance of pharmaceutical pain medications and simultaneously reduce the risk factors associated with opioid analgesics.
Methodology
A systematic integrated literature review search within the databases CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Complete, and PubMed.
Terms that were searched while researching the topic included: acupuncture, pain management, post-op, analgesia, post-surgical pain, opioids, and narcotic side-effects.
See attachment for references