An American study shows acupuncture reduces pain after bone marrow transplantation, and decreases postoperative opioid use. Sixty adults with multiple myeloma and undergoing chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, were randomised to receive either true or sham acupuncture once daily for five days. The first treatment was given the day after chemotherapy. Opioid use was assessed at 5, 15 and 30 days after transplantation.
All 15 true acupuncture patients who were non-users of opioids, remained free of them still at the end of the study. By contrast, 20% of those given sham acupuncture started using opioids after chemotherapy and stem cell infusion (day 5), and by the 30 day point, 40% were users. As regards patients who were already opioid users at baseline, by day 30, 21% in the true acupuncture group and 30% in the sham acupuncture group, had increased their use. The researchers conclude that acupuncture appears to significantly reduce the need for pain medications during this procedure and warrants further studies as an opioid-sparing intervention.
(Reduction of Opioid Use by Acupuncture in Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial. Pain Medicine, 9 September 2019.)