The effect of auricular acupuncture on pain during colonoscopy with midazolam and pethidine

Abstract

Colonoscopy is the standard procedure for colorectal cancer screening. One of its common complications is abdominal pain. Analgesia has not provided favorable outcomes so various complementary practices have been developed, including auricular acupuncture. In this study, a randomized controlled trial of 56 patients who underwent colonoscopy was conducted to determine the effect of acupuncture on the pain experienced during colonoscopy. Subjects were divided into two groups: The first received acupuncture combined with midazolam and pethidine, while the second were administered placebo puncture in addition to midazolam and pethidine. The median Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) score was lower in the auricular acupuncture group than in the placebo puncture group(0.7 [0–4.83] vs. 1.9 [0–6.20]; p = 0.010), while there were no significant differences to median Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores (29 [0–100] vs. 44.5 [0–100]; p = 0.147), heart rate changes (−2.58 [14.31] vs.−2.43 [12.28]; p = 0.970), or the mean time to the cecum (16 [8–51] vs. 22 [5–63]; p = 0.206). Auricular acupuncture combined with midazolam and pethidine was found to be effective at reducing pain during colonoscopy.