Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients

Paper Info
Page count 2
Word count 563
Read time 3 min
Topic Health
Type Essay
Language 🇺🇸 US

Introduction

  • Rising opioid misuse and overprescription-related addiction a major problem in chronic pain management
  • Prescribed opioids can become addictive
  • Inappropriate use and dosage cause adverse health effects
  • A high risk of tolerance in patients requiring increased dosage to relief pain
  • Persistent pain affects inpatient outcomes

PICOT Question

In adults from 40 to 60 years of age suffering from chronic pain, how does the use of acupuncture (Complementary Alternative Medicine) compare to opioid use over one year?

  • P: Adults aged 40-60 years diagnosed with persistent pain
  • I: A randomized controlled trial with opioids and acupuncture as complementary medicines
  • C: Effects of prescribed opioids on the health and well-being of adults with chronic pain
  • O: Opioid use dependency; acupuncture is more effective & has no significant side effects
  • T: 12 months

Description of the Intervention

  • Research design: A randomized control trial
  • Treatment groups: analgesics vs. acupuncture (ACU) as complementary alternative medicine
  • Comparison of treatment effects on adults (40-60 years) with chronic pain (CP)
  • Assessments compared include individual wellbeing and pain intensity
  • Trial duration is 12 months

Evidence Summary

  1. Significant evidence supports ACU as effective in CP management
  2. Also, has a low risk of serious side effects
  3. Major themes found for CP include
  4. ACU and acupressure are significantly effective in reducing cancer pain & analgesic use (He et al., 2020)
  5. ACU reduces pain intensity, fatigue, depression, social isolation & anxiety (Davis et al., 2018)
  6. ACU improved physical function & sleep disturbance
  7. 91% of participants reported improvements in their conditions ((Davis et al., 2018)

Summary of the Pilot Project

  • The Who: Adults aged 40 to 60 years with chronic pain diagnosis
  • The What: Comparing the effects of prescribed opioids with ACU in treating CP
  • The Why: Determine the best alternative treatment for CP & benefits/risks of prescribed opioids vs. ACU
  • The Where: Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Kentucky
  • The When: April 20, 2021 to April 21, 2022 (a 12-month period)
  • The How: Will use a randomized control design – two arms (analgesics vs. ACU)
  • Six participants sampled from each of the four study sites (N = 24)
  • Inclusion criteria: pain relief & side effects in subjects
  • Collaboration with four Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs

Stakeholders

  • CTSAs to evaluate multi-site research procedures & advice on best practices for participant recruitment & data collection
  • ClinicalTrials.gov – register the project
  • Rural primary care practitioners

Strategies for stakeholders engagement

  • Acceptance & commitment therapy – teach coping skills
  • Feasibility study – assess project viability & effectiveness
  • Practice guidelines to use are the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials

Intervention measurement approaches

  • Key measures: comorbidity behavioral health, opioid abnormal behavior & pain outcome
  • 4 measurement tools will be used:
  • Brief Pain Inventory – assess pain severity & impact
  • Short Form Health Survey – measure quality of life
  • Patient Health Questionnaire – assess depressive disorders & depression comparability
  • Current Opioid Misuse Measure – quantify abnormal opioid medication risk
  • Implications for PracticeDrug misuse – a significant problem nursing practice
  • Opioid analgesics are highly prescribed for pain in the US (Ling, 2017)
  • A high risk of tolerance, abstinence syndrome & hyperalgesia
  • Development of physical & psychological dependence after long-term use
  • Benefit/risk ratio decreases with long-term use due to adverse effects
  • Stigma promotes denial of addiction effects (Gorfinkel et al., 2018)
  • An alternative treatment for CP is needed for adult patients
  • ACU – persistent pain relief effect after treatment
  • No significant side effects on patients

References

Davis, R. T., Badger, G., Valentine, K., Cavert, A., &

Coeytaux, R. R. (2018). Acupuncture for chronic pain in the Vermont Medicaid population: A prospective, pragmatic intervention trial. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 7, Web.

Gorfinkel, L., Voon, P., Wood, E., & Klimas, J. (2018). Diagnosing opioid addiction in people with chronic pain. BMJ, 362, 3949. Web.

He, Y., Guo, X., May, B. H., Zhang, A. L., Liu, Y.,

Lu, C., Mao, J. J., Xue, C. C., & Zhang, H. (2020). Clinical evidence for association of acupuncture and acupressure with improved c ancer pain. JAMA Oncology, 6(2), 271. Web.

Ling, W. (2017). Prescription opioid addiction and chronic pain: More than a feeling. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 173, 73– 74. Web.

Cite this paper

Reference

EssaysInCollege. (2022, July 5). Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients. Retrieved from https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/

Reference

EssaysInCollege. (2022, July 5). Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/

Work Cited

"Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." EssaysInCollege, 5 July 2022, essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.

References

EssaysInCollege. (2022) 'Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients'. 5 July.

References

EssaysInCollege. 2022. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.


Bibliography


EssaysInCollege. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.

References

EssaysInCollege. 2022. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.

1. EssaysInCollege. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.


Bibliography


EssaysInCollege. "Use of Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Management in Adult Patients." July 5, 2022. https://essaysincollege.com/use-of-acupuncture-for-chronic-pain-management-in-adult-patients/.