Perioperative acupuncture medicine: a novel concept instead of acupuncture anesthesia

OBJECTIVE: To confirm that acupuncture applied to patients would improve the clinical curative effect and accelerate the patient's recovery by introducing the application of acupuncture in pre-operation, during operation, and post-operation. DATA SOURCES: Literature cited in this review was retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and was primarily published in English or Chinese from 2010 to 2018, with keywords of “acupuncture,” “electroacupuncture,” “perioperative period,” “sedation,” “analgesia,” and “recovery.” Relevant citations in the retrieved articles were also screened to include more data. STUDY SELECTION: All retrieved literature was scrutinized, most typical articles related on perioperative acupuncture application in clinical study were reviewed. RESULTS: Acupuncture could relieve anxiety and stress during the preoperative stage. It reduces the usage of narcotics and stress response, and maintains the respiratory stability and homeostasis during surgery. It also exerts a protective effect on vital organs, and during the postoperative stages, enhances the recovery while effectively alleviating the postoperative pain. This phenomenon prevents common postoperative discomforts such as nausea and vomiting. In addition, it might improve the patients’ long-term prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: The novel concept “perioperative acupuncture medicine” is to focus on the optimal treatment in the perioperative period of surgical patients. The review reveals the important role of acupuncture in enhancing rapid recovery of patients during the perioperative period.