Acupuncture for Postoperative Analgesia in Laparoscopic Surgery

NCT ID: NCT02940288

Last Updated: 2021-11-30

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-09-30

Study Completion Date

2019-11-22

Brief Summary

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Auricular (ear) acupuncture treatment involves placing filiform needles in the ears at particular locations called acupoints. Although the mechanism for acupuncture analgesia is still unclear, it is believed ear acupoints work like reflex points that once stimulated with penetration by a needle have the ability to relieve pain in a different part of the body.

The purpose of this study is to explore the safety and effects of auricular acupuncture therapy on postoperative analgesic consumption and pain scores immediately following laparoscopic surgery.

Detailed Description

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Auricular acupuncture is a diagnostic and treatment system associated with a somatotopic representation of the homunculus in the ear. This acupuncture technique is similar, in theory, to reflexology where stimulation of a reflex point in the ear is presumed to relieve symptoms in another part of the body. It is hypothesized that this technique works to decrease pain through the reticular formation, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.

The increasing use of laparoscopic surgery has significantly diminished the dosing and duration of postoperative opioid consumption compared with open surgery. However, adverse events related with opioid use (nausea \& vomiting, pruritus, urinary retention, sedation) may cause delays in hospital discharge and can be especially problematic for certain sub-sets of high risk patients such as those with obstructive sleep apnea or prior histories of addiction. Investigators hypothesize that auricular acupuncture using the Battlefield Acupuncture Protocol will decrease opioid consumption and postoperative pain after laparoscopic surgery with minimal or no adverse events.

The primary aim of this study is to assess the effects of the BFA protocol on postoperative analgesic consumption and the secondary aims are to assess pain scores and time to discharge from Post Anesthesia Care Unit following laparoscopic surgery.

Conditions

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Surgery

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Intervention

Participants will be randomized to receive bilateral auricular acupuncture for postoperative pain.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Auricular Acupuncture

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will receive bilateral auricular acupuncture using the Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) protocol while in the Post Analgesia Care Unit (PACU) following laparoscopic surgery. Acupuncture needles will be left in place for 30 minutes.

Control

Participants will be randomized to receive bilateral sham acupuncture.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Sham Acupuncture

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants will receive sham acupuncture while in the Post Analgesia Care Unit (PACU) following laparoscopic surgery. During the sham procedure, needles will be inserted bilaterally in five nonspecific ear acupoints. Acupuncture needles will be left in place for 30 minutes.

Interventions

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Auricular Acupuncture

Participants will receive bilateral auricular acupuncture using the Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) protocol while in the Post Analgesia Care Unit (PACU) following laparoscopic surgery. Acupuncture needles will be left in place for 30 minutes.

Intervention Type OTHER

Sham Acupuncture

Participants will receive sham acupuncture while in the Post Analgesia Care Unit (PACU) following laparoscopic surgery. During the sham procedure, needles will be inserted bilaterally in five nonspecific ear acupoints. Acupuncture needles will be left in place for 30 minutes.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for cholecystectomy, hysterectomy or hernia repair
* Patients naïve to acupuncture

Exclusion Criteria

* Pregnancy
* Bleeding disorder
* Anticoagulant medications
* Involuntary movement disorders/Seizure disorders
* Local auricular infection, loss of skin integrity or significant deformation
* History of opioid medication use or dependence
* Hemodynamic or immunocompromised status
* History of syncope with venipuncture
* Unable to understand the consent form or how to use the VAS-100
* Prosthetic cardiac valves
* Patients will be withdrawn from the study if surgery time exceeds 90 minutes or the laparoscopic procedure turned into an open surgery
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Emory University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Yanire Nieves

Instructor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Yanire Nieves, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Emory University

Locations

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Atlanta Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24436674 (View on PubMed)

Sun Y, Gan TJ, Dubose JW, Habib AS. Acupuncture and related techniques for postoperative pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Br J Anaesth. 2008 Aug;101(2):151-60. doi: 10.1093/bja/aen146. Epub 2008 Jun 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18522936 (View on PubMed)

Gori L, Firenzuoli F. Ear acupuncture in European traditional medicine. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 Sep;4(Suppl 1):13-6. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem106.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15777857 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25586769 (View on PubMed)

Goertz CM, Niemtzow R, Burns SM, Fritts MJ, Crawford CC, Jonas WB. Auricular acupuncture in the treatment of acute pain syndromes: A pilot study. Mil Med. 2006 Oct;171(10):1010-4. doi: 10.7205/milmed.171.10.1010.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17076456 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Usichenko TI, Kuchling S, Witstruck T, Pavlovic D, Zach M, Hofer A, Merk H, Lehmann C, Wendt M. Auricular acupuncture for pain relief after ambulatory knee surgery: a randomized trial. CMAJ. 2007 Jan 16;176(2):179-83. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.060875.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17224599 (View on PubMed)

Usichenko TI, Hermsen M, Witstruck T, Hofer A, Pavlovic D, Lehmann C, Feyerherd F. Auricular Acupuncture for Pain Relief after Ambulatory Knee Arthroscopy-A Pilot Study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2005 Jun;2(2):185-189. doi: 10.1093/ecam/neh097. Epub 2005 May 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15937559 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25435890 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Zhang CS, Yang AW, Zhang AL, May BH, Xue CC. Sham control methods used in ear-acupuncture/ear-acupressure randomized controlled trials: a systematic review. J Altern Complement Med. 2014 Mar;20(3):147-61. doi: 10.1089/acm.2013.0238. Epub 2013 Oct 19.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24138333 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21407033 (View on PubMed)

Compton WM, Jones CM, Baldwin GT. Relationship between Nonmedical Prescription-Opioid Use and Heroin Use. N Engl J Med. 2016 Jan 14;374(2):154-63. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1508490. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26760086 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3579199/

Design and Rationale of a Comparative Effectiveness Study to Evaluate Two Acupuncture Methods for the Treatment of Headaches Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury

Other Identifiers

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IRB00086184

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id