Abstract

Introduction: the use of acupuncture is expanding. There are numerous studies in which acupuncturing pericardium 6 (nei guan) or simply P6 has been studied for its effect on the reduction of the nausea and vomiting after the surgical operations and the results have been found different, sometimes contradictory. The present study aims at determining the effect of P6 acupuncture's effect on the nausea and vomiting in patients after appendectomy operation. Materials and Methods: the present study is a double-blind clinical trial conducted on 150 appendectomy patients. The patients were randomly assigned to three groups, namely intervention, placebo and control. The intervention group underwent P6 acupuncturing half an hour before anesthesia induction. Telescopic needle was installed on P6 in the placebo group and the control group was not subjected to any acupuncturing effect. The intensity of the nausea and vomiting after surgery and till 24 hours afterwards was measured and recorded through administering questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 16, based on descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA, Chi-Square and Kruskal-Wallis tests). Findings: no significant difference was observed between the three groups in terms of age, gender, BMI and education level. The intensity of the nausea and vomiting was smaller in the intervention group than in placebo and control groups during all hours after operation. The intensity of the nausea and vomiting was not found statistically significant during the first six hours post-operation (P=0.54) but it became significant during 7 to 12 hours after operation (P=0.00) and also during 13 to 24 hours after operation (P=0.009). In sum, seven patients had severe nausea and vomiting (one in intervention group, two in placebo group and four in control group). Conclusion: acupuncturing of pericardium 6 (nei guan) exerts a significant effect on the reduction of nausea and vomiting in patients under appendectomy operation. © 2018 Journal of Advanced Pharmacy Education & Research.