Acupuncture effect on Chemotherapy-induced Vomiting and Nausea: A case series

Objectives: We carried out an observational study of the effects of Nei Guan (P6) and Gong Sun (SP4) acupuncture for the treatment of CINV, preparing for further randomized controlled trial study. This is a case series to explore the changes in the incidence of CINV by acupuncture. Methods: Patients reported a Rhodex index indicating the severity of nausea and vomiting and loss of appetite, before acupuncture, after acupuncture and 1-week follow-up examination. Twelve patients with CINV participated in this study. We included patients receiving chemotherapeutic agents that might induce moderate or severe nausea and vomiting. We conducted 5 treatment sessions with P6 and SP4 acupuncture over the course of 5 days. Results: The median Rhodex score were decreased in 5 patients over time, while we observed loss of appetite of 6 patients were improved over time. During the study, the mean of Rhodex of total patients revealed a decrease of Day 1, Day 7, Day 14; 0.74, 0.68, 0.38, respectively, while the mean of loss of appetite showed a decrease of Day 1, Day 7, Day 14; 5.25, 4.08, 4.00, respectively. Conclusions: The study gives a preliminary data that manual acupuncture of P6 and SP4 may reduce the severity of CINV and loss of appetite, and justifies further study.