Manual acupuncture reduces hyperemesis gravidarum: A placebo-controlled, randomized, single-blind, crossover study

Hyperemesis gravidarum, severe vomiting develops in about 1-2 % of all preg nancies. Acupuncture on the point PC6 above the wrist on the palmar side ha s been found to prevent some types of nausea and vomiting. The purpose of t he present study wets to sec if acupuncture, in addition to standard treatm ent, could hasten the improvement of hyperemesis gravidarum. Thirty-three w omen with hyperemesis were evaluated in a randomized single-blind crossover comparison of two methods of acupuncture, active (deep) PC6 acupuncture or placebo (superfical) acupuncture. The women estimated their degree of naus ea on a visual analogue scale (VAS). The daily number of emesis episodes we re documented. Crossover analyses showed that there was a significantly fas ter reduction of nausea VAS and more women who stopped vomiting after activ e acupuncture than after placebo acupuncture. This study suggests that acti ve PC6 acupuncture, in combination with standard treatment, could make wome n with hyperemesis gravidarum better faster than placebo acupuncture. (C) U .S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 2000.