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.