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PARIS, July 28 (AFP) - Wrist acupuncture is as effective as medication for easing post-operation nausea, according to research reported next Saturday in the British weekly New Scientist.
Hong Kong and Australian scientists reviewed 26 trials which focussed on use of the so-called pericardium, or P6, acupuncture point in the wrist.
The trials involved 3,000 patients who were either given P6 acupuncture or sham treatment, such as a needle that was inserted at the wrong place or a simulated stimulation of the P6.
Those who received the right treatment were 28 percent less likely to feel nauseous and 24 percent less likely to ask for anti-sickness drugs compared to those who got the sham treatment.
Acupuncture was just as effective as routine anti-sickness drugs in preventing nausea and vomiting, but had few side effects and was cheaper, the study found.
The study was carried out by Anna Lee of Hong Kong's Chinese University and Mary Done of the New Children's Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
It appears in full in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Without treatment, four out of five people who have had an anaesthetic suffer from nausea and vomiting after their operation, New Scientist said.
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