Introduction:

in the recovery period from general anesthesia the used drugs should be metabolized and the physiological alterations restored. Acupuncture is a treatment method that has been studied in the perioperative period with different aims; nevertheless its effect on the recovery from general anesthesia is less well known.

Objective:

to describe the acupuncture stimulation effect on the recovery from general balanced anesthesia in patients who underwent a breast nodule surgery.

Materials and methods:

a prospective, observational study was performed in 60 patients who underwent a surgery of breast nodule with balanced endotracheal general anesthesia, from January 2014 to January 2016, at the Provincial Teaching Hospital “Jose Ramon Lopez Tabrane” of Matanzas. Two groups were formed: group I included patients to whom acupuncture needles were placed in R1, Du 26 and P9 acupoints after surgery, and Group II patients to whom acupuncture was not performed. The acupuncture effect on anesthetic recovery was assessed using the Aldrete Scale. Two groups were formed: group I, whose members at the end of the surgery were placed acupuncture needles to in the points R1, Du26 and P9; and group II, whose members did not receive acupuncture. The effect of acupuncture on anesthetic recovery was measured through the Aldrete Scale.

Results:

the highest incidence age was 40 to 49 years. The physical condition of the patients, according to the American Society of Anesthesiology, was I. An anesthetic time of 61 to 90 minutes prevailed. More than 75% of the women had an anesthetic recovery time between 31 and 60 minutes. There were two minor complications attributable to acupuncture.

Conclusions:

acupuncture application shortened the anesthetic recovery time in the studied patients.

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