Table 6.
Acupuncture therapy versus postoperative care for other measures of gastrointestinal recovery.
| Outcome | Treatment type, cancer, participants (number) | Acupuncture therapy | Effect Size MD 1 [95% CI] | Study ID No.† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 2 | ||||
| Time to first liquid intake (hours) | Radical surgery, CRC (76) | Manual acup. plus ear acupressure2 | -18.90 [-21.20, -16.60]∗ | 10 |
| Radical surgery1, CRC (78) | Ear acupressure | -19.76 [-20.27, -19.25]∗ | 5 | |
|
| ||||
| Pooled result (hours) | 2 RCTs (154) | Manual acup., ear acupressure | -19.72 [-20.22, -19.22]∗ 0% | 5, 10 |
|
| ||||
| Time to first semifluid food intake (hours) | Radical surgery, colon cancer, elderly patients (60) | Manual plus electro-acup. | -4.00 [-37.46, 29.46] | 15 |
|
| ||||
| Time to resume normal diet (days) | Laparoscopic surgery, CRC (110) | Electro-acup. | -0.80 [-1.40, -0.20]∗ | 7 |
∗ means statistically significant; † see Table 1; 1: excluding Miles surgery; 2: on sensitive ear points.
CI: confidence interval; MD: mean difference.