title: Reduced Need for Rescue Antiemetics and Improved Capacity to Eat in Patients Receiving Acupuncture Compared to Patients Receiving Sham Acupuncture or Standard Care during Radiotherapy.
abstract: Objective.To evaluate if consumption of emesis-related care and eating capacity differed between patients receiving verum acupuncture, sham acupuncture, or standard care only during radiotherapy.Methods.Patients were randomized to verum (n= 100) or sham (n= 100) acupuncture (telescopic blunt sham needle) (median 12 sessions) and registered daily their consumption of antiemetics and eating capacity. A standard care group (n= 62) received standard care only and delivered these data once. Results.More patients in the verum (n= 73 of 89 patients still undergoing radiotherapy; 82%, Relative Risk (RR) 1.23, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.01-1.50) and the sham acupuncture group (n= 79 of 95; 83%, RR 1.24, CI 1.03-1.52) did not need any antiemetic medications, as compared to the standard care group (n= 42 out of 63; 67%) after receiving 27 Gray dose of radiotherapy. More patients in the verum (n= 50 of 89; 56%, RR 1.78, CI 1.31-2.42) and the sham acupuncture group (n= 58 of 94 answering patients; 62%, RR 1.83, CI 1.20-2.80) were capable of eating as usual, compared to the standard care group (n= 20 of 63; 39%).Conclusion.Patients receiving acupuncture had lower consumption of antiemetics and better eating capacity than patients receiving standard antiemetic care, plausible by nonspecific effects of the extra care during acupuncture.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3668-3857
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Enblom
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steineck
authors.affiliation: Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4593-7273
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammar
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Department of Oncology and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sussanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Börjeson