A study of 593 women at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, Australia, who were less than 14 weeks pregnant and suffered from symptoms of nausea or vomiting, compared traditional acupuncture, simple acupuncture at Neiguan P-6 only, sham acupuncture and no acupuncture. The acupuncture patients received two 20-minute sessions of acupuncture in the first week followed by one weekly treatment for four weeks. Traditional acupuncture consisted of the insertion of a maximum of 6 needles at a mixture of abdominal points and points selected according to pattern differentiation. Abdominal points were Burong ST-19, Chengman ST-20, Liangmen ST-21, Youmen KID-21, Futonggu KID 20, Juque REN-14, Shangwan REN-13, Zhongwan REN-12, Jianli REN-11 and Xiawan REN-10. Points selected according to differentiation were Liver qi stagnation: Taichong LIV-3, Neiguan P-6, Yanglingquan GB 34, Shangwan REN-13, Youmen KID-21, Liangqiu ST-34, Zusanli ST-36; Stomach or Spleen deficiency: Zusanli ST 36, Neiguan P-6, Zhongwan REN 12; Stomach heat: Neiting ST-44, Jianli REN-11, Liangqiu ST 34, Liangmen ST-21, Neiguan P-6, Quze P-3; Phlegm: Fenglong ST-40, Yinlingquan SP-9, Burong ST-19, Pishu BL-20, Youmen KID-21; Heart qi deficency: Tongli HE-5, Neiguan P-6, Zusanli ST-36, Juque REN-14; Heart fire: Neiguan P-6, Juque REN-14, Xinshu BL-15. Deqi was obtained and needles were left for 20 minutes. The sham acupuncture group were needled at points close to, but not on, acupuncture points. All three acupuncture groups reported less nausea and dry retching, with traditional acupuncture having the fastest effect. Patients receiving traditional acupuncture reported improvement in five aspects of general health status (vitality, social function, physical function, mental health and emotional role function) compared with improvement in 2 aspects in the other acupuncture groups, and 1 aspect in the no acupuncture group. Although no kind of acupuncture was able to reduce vomiting, the authors speculate that more frequent treatments might have produced greater benefit. (Birth 29:1 March 2002).
Quelle: www.jcm.co.uk