Effectiveness of acupuncture for pain control after Cesarean section is associated with the length of experience of the acupuncturist: observational data from a randomized clinical trial.

Abstract

In a recent randomized controlled investigation, acupuncture with indwelling intradermal needles reduced pain and accelerated mobilization in patients undergoing elective Cesarean section (CS).1 In this investigation, acupuncture administered bilaterally at four traditional auricular acupuncture (AA) point locations and six traditional acupuncture point locations of the body (n = 60) was compared with placebo acupuncture (n = 60) at the same sites using nonpenetrating placebo devices.2 Both study interventions (acupuncture and the placebo procedure) were provided by three physicians— C.K. (resident radiologist with 1 year of clinical experience in radiology), T.H. and T.U. (both consultant anaesthesiologists with more than 20 years of experience in their clinical specialty) with various durations of expertise in acupuncture— according to previously described protocols.1,2 One hundred and twenty patients were included between January 2015 and June 2017. Initially it was intended that the acupuncturist with the longest duration of experience (TU, >25 years) would perform the acupuncture for all study participants with assistance from the second acupuncturist (TH, <2 years’ experience in acupuncture). However, due to academic leave, TU was absent for several months in 2016 and, consequently, CK and TH had to perform the study interventions. In total, TU and TH (Team 1) performed study interventions in 90 patients, while CK and TH (Team 2) performed study interventions in 30 patients. In this brief report, we present a re-calculation of the main results of the original randomized investigation, stratified by the acupuncturist team who applied the treatment.