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Effectiveness of Auricular Acupressure for Acute Postoperative Pain after Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  • Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To identify the effectiveness of auricular acupressure (AA) in patients with acute postoperative pain after surgery by systematic review.

Methods

A search of randomized controlled trials was conducted in 5 English medical electronic databases and 4 Chinese databases. Two reviewers independently retrieved related studies, assessed the methodological quality, and extracted data with a standardized data form. Meta-analyses were performed using all time-points meta-analysis.

Results

A total of 26 studies with 1,682 participants were included. Results showed that compared with conventional therapy, AA significantly improved the total effective rate [risk ratio=1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.13 to 1.37, Plt;0.0001; heterogeneity: Plt;0.0001, I2=85%]. In the subgroup analysis, the results changed in different follow-up time and surgery categories. The pain relief in the AA group might be the most significant at 72 h after surgery (mean difference=–0.85, 95% CI,–1.20 to–0.50, Plt;0.0001) and in abdominal surgery (mean difference=–1.15, 95% CI,–1.41 to–0.90, Plt;0.0001). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the results of this meta-analysis were stable. No serious adverse effects were recorded.

Conclusion

It was recommended to provide AA to patients with acute postoperative pain. However, a more accurate estimate of the effect requires further rigorously designed large-scale and high-quality RCTs for improving acute postoperative pain after surgery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210046, China

    Qin Zhong, Di Wang, Ya-mei Bai, Shi-zheng Du, Yu-lei Song & Jing Zhu

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  1. Qin Zhong
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  2. Di Wang
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  3. Ya-mei Bai
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Correspondence to Ya-mei Bai.

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Zhong, Q., Wang, D., Bai, Ym. et al. Effectiveness of Auricular Acupressure for Acute Postoperative Pain after Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 25, 225–232 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3063-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3063-1

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