Post-surgical nausea eased by acupuncture

Acupuncture, already shown to help ease the nausea patients often suffer after surgery, may actually work better than drugs.

A team of researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina studied 75 women undergoing major breast surgery such as breast augmentation, breast reduction or mastectomy. All needed general anesthesia to be rendered unconscious and immobile, which often causes nausea upon awakening.

The 75 women were randomly divided into three groups. One group received acupuncture; another group was given an anti-nausea drug called ondansetron, sold by GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name Zofran; and the third group received neither.

Two hours after surgery, 77% of the patients given acupuncture had no nausea or vomiting, compared with 64% for those given the drug and 42% who received nothing.

The study was reported in the Sept. 22 edition of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia.