Acupuncture in Palliative Care

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture is an innovative and scientific supported option to treat oncological patients and seems to be an effective palliative care option. In the region of Tuscany, at the Palliative Care Department of “Misericordia” Grosseto Hospital a real integration of acupuncture in Palliative Medicine has been started. The objective of this work is to retrospectively evaluate the effects of the integrated medical approach in a palliative care unit. Methods: Medical records of the cancer patients belonging to the palliative care unit who voluntarily underwent integrated therapy with acupuncture were retrospectively analyzed. For each patient, an innovative and personalized treatment was used that included the use of - Points based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - Points based on Microsystems Acupuncture Technique - Points with a psychic action (Shen Ling) Codified evaluation indexes have been collected at the beginning and after 1-2 months of the integrated therapies. Edmonton Symptoms Assessment Scale (ESAS) and SF-12 questionnaire were used for oncological patients while in palliative care were used well-being subjective criteria and the Tarlowski Scale. Results: More than 900 sessions of acupuncture in about 320 outpatients and their families, 45 residents in the hospice facility and 8 palliative care operators were performed in 2 years; 92.4% of patients reported some improvement in their symptoms on the ESAS, with 36.8% reporting a good or remarkable improvement or complete resolution. Examination of the items on the SF-12 questionnaire showed a remarkable improvement in perceived health two months after the start of the integrated therapy. Conclusions: Acupuncture is a promising adjunctive therapy for those patients nearing the end of life in the home hospice setting. Acupuncture is safe and clinically cost-effective for the management of common symptoms in palliative care and hospice patients.