Efficacy and Safety of Buccal Acupuncture as an Adjunct to Epidural Labor Analgesia: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

This study, designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial, was undertaken to rigorously evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety profile of buccal acupuncture therapy when employed as an adjunct to epidural analgesia for labor pain management. Conducted at Wanzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital between September 2023 and September 2024, the trial enrolled 100 full-term parturients undergoing spontaneous vaginal delivery. Participants were randomly assigned, utilizing a random number table, to either a control group or an observation group, each comprising 50 individuals. While both groups received standardized epidural analgesia initiated at 2 cm cervical dilation, the observation group additionally benefited from buccal acupuncture therapy. The study meticulously tracked key indicators—visual analog scale (VAS) scores, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), labor duration, and maternal-neonatal outcomes—at critical cervical dilation stages: 1 cm (T0), 3 cm (T1), 10 cm (T2), and during delivery (T3). The findings revealed that at T1, T2, and T3, the observation group exhibited statistically significant reductions in VAS scores, MAP, and HR when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Conversely, no significant intergroup differences were observed at T0 (P > 0.05). Labor duration, postpartum hemorrhage, and neonatal Apgar scores showed no statistical differences between groups (P > 0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting was similar between groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, buccal acupuncture therapy appears to significantly augment the analgesic effectiveness of epidural labor analgesia without demonstrably prolonging labor, increasing adverse maternal-neonatal sequelae, or elevating the risk of nausea and vomiting, thereby underscoring its potential as a safe and effective complementary strategy for both mother and infant well-being.