Relevance to nursing care
Nurses are often approached by patients regarding the use
and/or the recommendation of the use of acupuncture for
cancer-related pain. Acupuncture is widely accepted and
practised for various medical conditions such as osteoarthritis,
chronic lower back pain and post-operative pain. It is
essential for nurses to be updated on the efficacy of acupuncture
for managing cancer-related pain so they can
educate their patients in accordance with the best available
evidence.
Study characteristics
Three trials with a total of 204 participants were included in
the review.1 The inclusion criteria were adult participants
aged 18 years and above who had cancer-related pain and
were receiving any type of invasive Western or traditional
Chinese style acupuncture. The primary outcome measure
was participant-reported pain intensity using validated scales
or verbal reporting. Methodological qualities of the trials
were assessed using a modified version of the 5-point Oxford
Quality Scale. Only one trial was identified as being of high
quality as it adequately described randomisation, assessor
blinding and dropouts adequately. The other two trials
lacked reporting of whether the assessor and/or subject were
blinded and there was no reporting on withdrawal rates.
Pooling of the results was not possible due to heterogeneity
in different types of acupuncture used and measurement in
pain reporting. The major review findings were reported in
narrative text as follows:
• Pain intensity on a visual analogue scale significantly
decreased in acupuncture group compared with placebo
at both day 30 and 60.
• Acupuncture was more effective when compared with
medication.
• The Western medication group experienced more effective
immediate pain relief during the first 10 days than the
filiform needle or point injection group. However, the
effects were similar between those receiving Western
medication and those receiving acupuncture by the final
10 days.
Implications for nursing care
Whilst acupuncture gives relief from pain, the use of pain
medication gives more immediate relief. Therefore, acupuncture
is not recommended as a stand-alone therapy for
pain relief for adult patients who have cancer-related pain.
Nurses are encouraged to recommend evidence-proven
strategies for patients to manage their cancer-related
pain.
Implications for research
Future research on the use of acupuncture in this area needs
to strengthen the power and sample size calculation, as well
as ensure the homogeneity of the cancer pain condition,
assessor blinding, the use of an optimal dose of acupuncture
and appropriate use of a control group before acupuncture
would be considered as a ‘recommended practice’.
Dora SP Lang BSN AdvDip (oncology)
National University Cancer Institute, Singapore;
National University Health System
A member of the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF)
Reference
1. Paley CA, Johnson MI, Tashani OA, Bagnall AM. Acupuncture for
cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011; (1). Art.
No.: CD007753. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD7753.pub2
doi:10.1111/j.1744-1609.2012.00257.x Int J Evid Based Healthc 2012; 10: 86
©
Relevance to nursing care
Nurses are often approached by patients regarding the use
and/or the recommendation of the use of acupuncture for
cancer-related pain. Acupuncture is widely accepted and
practised for various medical conditions such as osteoarthritis,
chronic lower back pain and post-operative pain. It is
essential for nurses to be updated on the efficacy of acupuncture
for managing cancer-related pain so they can
educate their patients in accordance with the best available
evidence.
Study characteristics
Three trials with a total of 204 participants were included in
the review.1 The inclusion criteria were adult participants
aged 18 years and above who had cancer-related pain and
were receiving any type of invasive Western or traditional
Chinese style acupuncture. The primary outcome measure
was participant-reported pain intensity using validated scales
or verbal reporting. Methodological qualities of the trials
were assessed using a modified version of the 5-point Oxford
Quality Scale. Only one trial was identified as being of high
quality as it adequately described randomisation, assessor
blinding and dropouts adequately. The other two trials
lacked reporting of whether the assessor and/or subject were
blinded and there was no reporting on withdrawal rates.
Pooling of the results was not possible due to heterogeneity
in different types of acupuncture used and measurement in
pain reporting. The major review findings were reported in
narrative text as follows:
• Pain intensity on a visual analogue scale significantly
decreased in acupuncture group compared with placebo
at both day 30 and 60.
• Acupuncture was more effective when compared with
medication.
• The Western medication group experienced more effective
immediate pain relief during the first 10 days than the
filiform needle or point injection group. However, the
effects were similar between those receiving Western
medication and those receiving acupuncture by the final
10 days.
Implications for nursing care
Whilst acupuncture gives relief from pain, the use of pain
medication gives more immediate relief. Therefore, acupuncture
is not recommended as a stand-alone therapy for
pain relief for adult patients who have cancer-related pain.
Nurses are encouraged to recommend evidence-proven
strategies for patients to manage their cancer-related
pain.
Implications for research
Future research on the use of acupuncture in this area needs
to strengthen the power and sample size calculation, as well
as ensure the homogeneity of the cancer pain condition,
assessor blinding, the use of an optimal dose of acupuncture
and appropriate use of a control group before acupuncture
would be considered as a ‘recommended practice’.
Dora SP Lang BSN AdvDip (oncology)
National University Cancer Institute, Singapore;
National University Health System
A member of the Cochrane Nursing Care Field (CNCF)
Reference
1. Paley CA, Johnson MI, Tashani OA, Bagnall AM. Acupuncture for
cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011; (1). Art.
No.: CD007753. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD7753.pub2
doi:10.1111/j.1744-1609.2012.00257.x Int J Evid Based Healthc 2012; 10: 86
©
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