title: Objectifying acupuncture effects by lung function and numeric rating scale in patients undergoing heart surgery.
abstract: Rationale. Poststernotomy pain and impaired breathing are common clinical problems in early postoperative care following heart surgery. Insufficiently treated pain increases the risk of pulmonary complications. High-dose opioids are used for pain management, but they may cause side effects such as respiratory depression. Study Design. We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled, observer-blinded, three-armed clinical trial with 100 patients. Group 1 (n = 33) and Group 2 (n = 34) received one 20 min session of standardized acupuncture treatment with two different sets of acupoints. Group 3 (n = 33) served as standard analgesia control without additional intervention. Results. Primary endpoint analysis revealed a statistically significant analgesic effect for both acupuncture treatments. Group 1 showed a mean percentile pain reduction (PPR) of 18% (SD 19, P < 0.001). Group 2 yielded a mean PPR of 71% (SD 13, P < 0.001). In Group 1, acupuncture resulted in a mean forced vital capacity (FVC) increase of 30 cm(3) (SD 73) without statistical significance (P = 0.303). In Group 2, posttreatment FVC showed a significant increase of 306 cm(3) (SD 215, P < 0.001). Conclusion. Acupuncture revealed specific analgesic effects after sternotomy. Objective measurement of poststernotomy pain via lung function test was possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 410, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany ; Heidelberg School of Chinese Medicine, Karlsruher Straße 12, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany ; ICBAS, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira No. 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maimer
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Remppis
authors.forename: Falk-Udo
authors.initials: FU
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ringes-Lichtenberg
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Greten
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brazkiewicz
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goncalves
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Efferth
authors.forename: Henry Johannes
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Greten