Italian researchers at Santa Maria del Carmine Hospital, Rovereto, have concluded that acupuncture is a safe and well-tolerated procedure that can reduce preoperative anxiety. They randomised 120 patients undergoing cholecystectomy or hernia repair surgery, to one of three groups: body acupuncture; ear acupuncture; or a sedative drug group receiving midazolam. Acupuncture was given 30 minutes prior to surgery.
Anxiety reduction was measured by consumption of propofol (anaesthetic and sedative) and fentanyl (anaesthetic). Body acupuncture was more effective than midazolam, with patients showing lower fentanyl consumption. Both acupuncture groups had lower propofol consumption compared with the drug group, and had no adverse events or local complications.
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Preoperative anxiety management: acupuncture vs. pharmacological treatment – A prospective study. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, February 2022.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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