Extra-1 acupressure for children undergoing anesthesia.
BACKGROUND
Acupuncture and related techniques have been used as adjuncts for perioperative anesthesia management. We examined whether acupressure in the Extra-1 (Yin-Tang) point would result in decreased preprocedural anxiety and reduced intraprocedural propofol requirements in a group of children undergoing endoscopic procedures.


METHODS
Fifty-two children were randomized to receive acupressure bead intervention either at the Extra-1 acupuncture point or at a sham point. A Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor was applied to all children before the onset of the intervention. Anxiety was assessed at baseline and before entrance to the operating room. Anesthetic techniques were standardized and maintained with IV propofol infusion titrated to keep BIS values of 40-60.


RESULTS
We found that after the intervention, children in the Extra-1 group experienced reduced anxiety whereas children in the sham group experienced increased anxiety (-9% [-3 to -15] vs 2% [-6 to 7.4], P = 0.012). In contrast, no significant changes in BIS values were observed in the preprocedural waiting period between groups (P = ns). We also found that total intraprocedural propofol requirements did not differ between the two study groups (214 +/- 76 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) vs 229 +/- 95 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1), P = 0.52).


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that acupressure bead intervention at Extra-1 acupoint reduces preprocedural anxiety in children undergoing endoscopic procedures. This intervention, however, has no impact on BIS values or intraprocedural propofol requirements.
Wang
Shu-Ming
SM
Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. shu-ming.wang@yale.edu
Escalera
Sandra
S
Lin
Eric C
EC
Maranets
Inna
I
Kain
Zeev N
ZN
D019050:Acupressure / Q000379:methods*; D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000293:Adolescent; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D011300:Preoperative Care; D015742:Propofol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D015742:Propofol