title: Acupuncture as an Antiemetic in Children who Underwent Adenoidectomy and/or Tonsillectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Postoperative vomiting (POV) is one of the most common problems following general anaesthesia, and many factors, either solely or in combination, may play a role in aetiology. Acupuncture is a technique that the World Health Organization has accepted as a complementary treatment. This study presents our experience with acupuncture for POV treatment in a study of paediatric tonsillectomy cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included ASA I-II patients (n=70) aged 2-14 years who underwent tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy under general anaesthesia. The patients were randomly divided into the following two groups: control and study group. In the study group, an acupuncture needle was intraoperatively applied to the P6 acupuncture point for 20 min. Antiemetics were not administered to either group because of the standard applications in the preoperative period. The patients were postoperatively evaluated by nurses who were unaware about the techniques used in either group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistically significant difference was determined between the groups with regard to age, sex, nature of the operation, duration of anaesthesia, duration of the operation, surgical method and ASA scores. A statistically significant difference was determined between the groups with respect to vomiting rates. The acupuncture group presented with 0.28-times fewer vomiting episodes than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the study demonstrate that acupuncture has an apparent antiemetic efficacy in POV. Its routine use for POV may improve postoperative comfort and reduce drug use for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sengül
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Özmert
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nergis
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salman
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Feyza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sever
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akın
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saydam
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülsen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keskin
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akcan
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Ankara Childrens Haematology, Oncology Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Devrim Tanıl
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kurt
keywords: Acupuncture; adenoidectomy; postoperative vomiting; tonsillectomy