Inpatient Acupuncture at a Major Cancer Center

BACKGROUND: Use of complementary and integrative therapies is increasing among cancer patients, but data regarding the impact treatments such as acupuncture have in an inpatient oncology setting are limited. METHODS: Patients who received acupuncture in an inpatient hospital environment between December 2014 and December 2015 were asked to complete a modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS; 0-10 scale) before and after each visit. Pre- and post-treatment scores were examined for each symptom using paired t tests. RESULTS: A total of 172 inpatients were treated with acupuncture in their hospital beds (257 visits). Thirty percent (n = 51) received at least one additional follow-up treatment (mean visits/patient = 1.5). Completion rate of the modified ESAS after acupuncture was 42%. The most common reasons for not completing the post-treatment ESAS were "patient too drowsy" or "patient fell asleep" (72%). For patients who reported a baseline symptom score ≥1, the greatest improvements (mean change ± SD) after acupuncture on the initial visit were found for pain (-1.8 ± 2.2; n = 69; P < .0001), nausea (-1.2 ± 1.9; n = 30; P < .001), anxiety (-0.8 ± 1.8; n = 36; P = .01), drowsiness (-0.6 ± 1.8; n = 57; P = .02), and fatigue (-0.4 ± 1.1; n = 67; P = .008). For patients who received at least one follow-up visit, significant improvement from baseline was found for sleep disturbance (-2.5 ± 4.4; n = 17; P = .03), anxiety (-2.4 ± 1.7; n = 9; P = .002), pain (-2.3 ± 2.7; n = 20; P = .001), and drowsiness (-2.0 ± 2.6; n = 16; P = .008). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received inpatient acupuncture at a major cancer center experienced significant improvement after treatment for pain, sleep disturbance, anxiety, drowsiness, nausea, and fatigue.