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Acupuncture on Yintang point decreases preoperative anxiety
H Volkan Acar1, Ozgün Cuvaş, Ayşegül Ceyhan
1Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Ankara Training and Research Hospital of Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey. hvacar@yahoo.com
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ear-press needle acupuncture on Yintang point for preoperative anxiety.
Design:
This was a prospective, randomized, single-blind, controlled study.
Settings/Location:
The study setting was the Department of Anesthesiology in Ankara Training and Research Hospital of Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey.
Subjects:
The study comprised 52 adult surgical patients.
Interventions:
A single, 20-minute session of single-point acupuncture was applied on Yintang (acupuncture group) or sham point (sham acupuncture group).
Outcome Measures:
The efficacy of acupuncture was evaluated by means of the changes in bispectral index (BIS) and STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Index).
Results:
BIS values in the acupuncture group were significantly lower than in the sham group in all time intervals (p<0.0042). BIS values were lower than baseline in the study group during the entire study period (p<0.0004) while no such effect has been observed in the sham group (p>0.0004). Mean values of state anxiety (STAI-S) decreased after acupuncture in the study group (p=0,018), while no change was observed in trait anxiety (STAI-T) (p=0.156). Patients of the sham group showed no change in both parameters (p=0.387 and p=0,116).
Conclusions:
Ear-press needle acupuncture on Yintang point reduces preoperative anxiety in adult surgical patients.
