Acupuncture for Pain and Nausea in the Intensive Care Unit: A Feasibility Study in a Public Safety Net Hospital.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the feasibility and acceptability of providing acupuncture treatment to relieve pain and nausea symptoms in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

DESIGN

Prospective feasibility study.

SETTINGS/LOCATION: Public safety net hospital with a 20-bed mixed medical/surgical ICU.

SUBJECTS

Patients from all services admitted to the ICU from November 14, 2014 to April 2015.

INTERVENTIONS

Three 20 min acupuncture treatments given for consented patients who were experiencing pain and/or nausea, in addition to usual care.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcomes assessed were the proportion of patients offered acupuncture who accepted it, their perceptions of the effects of acupuncture treatment on pain and nausea, and the incidence of adverse effects related to acupuncture. Secondary outcomes included medication use, ICU and hospital length of stay, and frequency and pattern of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnoses.

RESULTS

Of the 576 patients admitted to the ICU, 32.2% were deemed eligible for acupuncture and 42% of these (8% of total) received it. Self-reported pain level immediately after treatment decreased from the pain score reported immediately before treatment by 2.36 points. The majority of patients reported a benefit from acupuncture on symptoms of pain and also an anxiolytic effect. No major adverse effects were reported. There was a significant decrease in morphine usage after each treatment. The most common single TCM diagnosis was Qi and blood stagnation.

CONCLUSIONS

Acupuncture is feasible, safe, and acceptable in an ICU setting by patients from diverse backgrounds.