Auricular Battlefield Acupressure: A Promising Non-Pharmacologic Therapy for Pain in the Emergency Department

Objectives: Assess the utility of Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) protocol with beads (BFA-B) to treat pain in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed for patients who received BFA-B in an inner city ED from 2019–2020. Results: Thirty-one charts were reviewed. Eleven Pediatrics: The median age 13 years (range 8–19), 55% female, 91% of Hispanic. Twenty Adults: The median age 39 years (range 21–73); 70% female, 40% Hispanic, 15% Not Hispanic or Latino, 45% unknown race/ethnicity. Pain locations as follows. For pediatric patients: Headache (7), abdomen (2), musculoskeletal (2). For adult patients: headache (8), abdomen (3), musculoskeletal (7), chest (3), flank (1), facial or eye (1), and not specified (1) Some patients had multiple pain locations. The Verbal Pain Scores 0–10 Scale was used. Combined pediatric and adult groups - Mean pre-acupressure pain score: 7.55 ± 2.01 SD. Mean post-acupressure pain score: 3.37 ± 2.53 SD. Mean change of pain score: 4.18 ± 2.38 SD ( p < 0.001). Median time to lowest pain score: 32 min (range 3–146 min). No adverse events were noted. Conclusions: Battlefield acupressure with beads may provide pain relief for adult and pediatric patients who present to the ED with various pain syndromes. Further investigation is warranted.