Acupuncture In Palliative Care Research Articles

Perceptions of Australian Palliative Medicine Specialists Toward Acupuncture for Palliative Care.

Background: With increasing multidisciplinary care strategies, palliative medicine practitioner perceptions toward acupuncture integration are significant. Objective: To evaluate acupuncture availability and acceptability in Australian palliative care. Outcomes: (1) Domains of the survey included participant characteristics, (2) workplace availability, (3) personal attitudes, and (4) recommendation likelihood. Design: An online REDCap survey of Australian palliative medicine practitioners was administered. Results: Acupuncture was mostly not available/permitted at workplaces (45.2%) due to cost/funding (57.1%) and limited evidence (57.1%). When available by workplace (24.2%) or affiliated service (4.8%), doctors mostly administered acupuncture (66.7%). Respondents were not up to date with current research (71.4%). Referral likelihood increased with confidence in provider (80.0%), workplace availability (77.1%), and patient prior/current use (77.1%). Patient acupuncture discussions were rare (62.9%) with barriers of effectiveness uncertainty (71.4%) and limited knowledge of availability (57.1%). Conclusion: Despite available integrative services and acceptability by Australian palliative medicine practitioners, utilization is low. Further research into acupuncture effectiveness for palliative symptoms, feasibility, and patient acceptability is required.

Current status of acupuncture in palliative care of Tonami General Hospital

Current status of acupuncture in palliative care of Tonami General Hospital

Acupuncture in Palliative Care

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.

Acupuncture for Symptom Relief in Palliative Care—Study Protocol and Semistandardized Treatment Schemes

The use of complementary and alternative medicine methods such as acupuncture in palliative care has increased over the past years. Well-planned trials are warranted to show its effectiveness in relieving distressing symptoms. The development of treatment schemes to be used in the trial for both acupuncture and medical symptom control is challenging, as both acupuncture and palliative care are highly individualized. Thus, standardized care plans of a randomized controlled trial will have difficulties in producing treatment results that compare to the clinical practice. As an alternative, treatment protocols for both acupuncture and medical symptom control of dyspnea, pruritus, hypersalivation, depression, anxiety, and xerostomia were designed with the input of experts. They are designed to provide sufficient symptom control and comparability for a three-arm, randomized controlled trial. Medical symptom control will be provided to all groups. The two control groups will be medical treatment and sham-laser acupuncture.

Effectiveness of acupuncture for palliative care in cancer patients: A systematic review

To critically evaluate the currently available randomized clinical trials regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture in palliative care for cancer patients, hence, to provide sufficient evidences for the widespread use of acupuncture in cancer treatment. Two independent reviewers extracted data from all of the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that assessed the efficacy of acupuncture in palliative care for cancer patients. Seven databases were searched from their respective inception to December 2010. All eligible trials identified were evaluated by two independent reviewers using the Jadad scale, and data from the articles were validated and extracted. In total, 33 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The effects of acupuncture on different cancer-related aspects were shown, including chemotherapy or radiotherapy-induced side effects (13/33, 39.4%), cancer pain (6/33, 18.2%), post-operative urinary retention (4/33, 12.1%), quality of life (2/33, 6.1%), vasomotor syndrome (2/33, 6.1%), post-operative gastrointestinal dysfunction (2/33, 6.1%), prevention of prolonged postoperative ileus (2/33, 6.1%), joint symptoms (1/33, 3.0%), and immunomodulation (1/33, 3.0%). The result of our systematic review suggested that the effectiveness of acupuncture in palliative care for cancer patients is promising, especially in reducing chemotherapy or radiotherapyinduced side effects and cancer pain. Acupuncture may be an appropriate adjunctive treatment for palliative care.

Use of Acupuncture in Hospices and Palliative Care Services in the Uk

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the availability of acupuncture in UK hospices and specialist palliative care services and to identify any barriers to the use of acupuncture in these settings, to determine the characteristics of available acupuncture services and of practitioners providing acupuncture, and to determine awareness of the evidence base for the use of acupuncture in palliative care. An online questionnaire with an invitation to participate was circulated by email to 263 hospices and specialist palliative care services in the UK. A response rate of 54% was obtained. Acupuncture was provided by 59% of services that responded. In general, small numbers of patients receive acupuncture as part of their palliative care treatment as inpatients, day patients or outpatients. Most practitioners were regulated health professionals who had received a Western-style training in acupuncture and used a Western-style medical acupuncture approach. Where acupuncture was not available the commonest reason given was the lack of a suitable practitioner. Most agreed that if funding and a suitable practitioner were available, acupuncture would be a useful addition to their service. The level of awareness of specific types of evidence supporting the use of acupuncture in palliative care was low, but most respondents were aware that some evidence existed. There is a need to increase training in acupuncture for healthcare professionals working in palliative care. There is also a need to raise awareness of the potential benefits to patients and the evidence base supporting the use of acupuncture in palliative care.

Herbal medicine and acupuncture for breast cancer palliative care and adjuvant therapy.

Breast cancer is a life-threatening disease among women worldwide with annual rates of reported incidence and death increasing alarmingly. Chemotherapy is a recommended and effective treatment option for breast cancer; however, the narrow therapeutic indices and varied side effects of currently approved drugs present major hurdles in increasing its effectiveness. An increasing number of literature evidence indicate that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) used in treatment-related symptom control and alleviation of side effects plays an important role in increasing survival rate and quality of life in breast cancer patients. This review focuses on the use of herbal medicines and acupuncture in palliative care and as adjuvants in the treatment of breast cancer. Herbal medicinal treatments, the correlation of clinical use with demonstrated in vitro and in vivo mechanisms of action, and the use of certain acupoints in acupuncture are summarized. The aim of this review is to facilitate an understanding of the current practice and usefulness of herbal medicine and acupuncture as adjuvants in breast cancer therapy.

Acupuncture in Palliative Care

Acupuncture is being increasingly used for a multiplicity of symptoms in patients with cancer and those requiring palliative care. An evidence base has been accumulating over recent years for symptoms such as acute and chronic pain, nausea and vomiting, xerostomia, vasomotor symptoms, fatigue and dyspnoea. Many symptoms occur in patients with cancer long after their initial treatment, which usually consists of a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Today, 45% of patients worldwide survive at least 5 years beyond their initial diagnosis and cancer is increasingly regarded as a chronic disease. As treatments become more successful, patients face the additional challenges of dealing with both the physical and psychological sequelae of their condition.1 Yet, anticancer treatment remains an intense experience for many patients and causes numerous side effects. Acupuncture, being a non-drug treatment, provides at least a partial solution for the increasing proportion of patients who turn to complementary and alternative therapies for help with symptom control at variable times after their diagnosis. Acupuncture has been used in pain management in our large Oncology Hospital for over 30 years, initially treating only pain but gradually also used in the treatment of non-pain symptoms such as hot flushes, dyspnoea and radiation-induced bowel and bladder problems. A wide range of symptoms have been treated with …

Acupuncture in palliative care

Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into designated acupuncture points to aid in the treatment of symptoms and to improve health. A survey was conducted in a tertiary palliative care unit where 50 patients with advanced cancer were surveyed to determine their understanding of, use of, and interest in acupuncture. Twenty-seven (54%) patients provided an accurate understanding of acupuncture. Although only 30% of patients had previously used acupuncture to treat noncancer medical conditions and only 10% had used it for cancer related symptoms, 80% of patients were interested in seeing an acupuncture practitioner on the care unit if one was made available. Although few advanced cancer patients on a tertiary palliative care unit had previously received acupuncture, many had a general understanding of this complementary therapy, and expressed an interest in seeing an acupuncture practitioner.

Safety aspects of acupuncture in palliative care.

Acupuncture can mask symptoms of cancer and tumour progression. It is not safe to use such a therapy without full knowledge of the clinical stage of the disease, and the current status of orthodox therapy. Contraindications to acupuncture needling include an unstable spine, severe clotting disorder, neutropenia and lymphoedema. Whilst semi-permanent needles are used increasingly in symptom control and pain management they should not be used in patients with valvular heart disease or in vulnerable neutropenic patients. Acupuncture has an increasing role in support for pain and symptom management, but patients should not be advised to abandon conventional treatments in favour of complementary or alternative therapies alone, and should not have their hopes raised inappropriately, or have any guilt projected on to them for the cause of their cancer.

A year of acupuncture in palliative care.

A year of acupuncture in palliative care.

Use of the Price precipitation reaction in northern Rhodesia.

<h3>Background</h3> Pain is one of the most common and problematic symptoms encountered by patients with cancer. Due to the multifactorial aetiology, pain management of these patients frequently requires multidisciplinary interventions including conventional support and specialty palliative care. Acupuncture has been identified as a possible adjunctive therapy for symptom management in cancer pain, and there is currently no systematic review focused solely on the evidence of acupuncture on cancer pain in palliative care. <h3>Objective</h3> To critically analyse currently available publications regarding the use of acupuncture for pain management among patients with cancer in palliative care settings. <h3>Methods</h3> Multiple academic databases were searched from inception to 29 October 2020. Randomised controlled trials involving acupuncture in palliative care for treatment of cancer-related pain were synthesised. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers, and methodological quality of each included study was assessed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2011 Levels of Evidence. <h3>Results</h3> Five studies (n=189) were included in this systematic review. Results indicated a favourable effect of acupuncture on pain relief in palliative care for patients with cancer. According to OCEBM 2011 Levels of Evidence, they were level 2 in one case (20%), level 3 in two cases (40%) and level 4 in the remaining (40%). Low-level evidence adversely affects the reliability of findings. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Further high-quality, adequately powered studies are needed in the future.