Acupuncture after Laparoscopy Hastens Discharge Time

Acupuncture after laparoscopy hastens discharge time. Acupuncture after laparoscopy reduces the time to discharge for patients who have undergone the procedure plus anaesthetic. Research teams based in Germany and Switzerland, randomly allocated 75 women to receive either acupuncture with standard anaesthetics, acupressure, or standard anaesthetics alone.

In the acupuncture group, median time to discharge was 35% shorter than in the standard anaesthetics alone group. It was also shorter than in the acupressure group. Median time to removal of the endotracheal tube was 7 minutes shorter in the acupuncture and acupressure groups, compared with the standard anaesthetics alone group. The researchers point out that modern surgery management requires increasing operating theatre turnover and more ambulatory procedures. Post-anaesthetic recovery therefore needs to be optimised, and further work should be encouraged to consider a role for acupuncture.

(Acupuncture reduces the time from extubation to “ready for discharge” from the post anaesthesia care unit: results from the randomised controlled AcuARP trial. Scientific Reports, 24 October 2018.)