Acupuncture Instantly Relieves Right Upper Abdominal Pain in Acute Cholecystitis Patients

Purpose: To observe the pain-relief effect of acupuncture at the acupoints Yanglingquan (GB34) and Zusanli (ST36) in patients with acute cholecystitis. Methods: A total of 81 patients diagnosed with acute calculous cholecystitis were acupunctured for 20 minutes at GB34 and ST36 before medical treatment. Patients were asked to score their pain levels on a visual analog scale (VAS) immediately after acupuncture. If the pain was reduced to a level less than VAS score 6 (not included), we regarded the acupuncture as effective. Patients’ clinical characteristics, white blood cell counts, time of onset, concomitance of diabetes, and recurrence of cholecystitis were also recorded for evaluation. Results: Most patients experienced a reduction in right upper abdominal pain after acupuncture. A VAS score of less than 6 was recorded by 60 patients, and the total efficacy was 74.07% (95% CI: 64.53% - 83.62%). 7 patients indicated the diminishing of pain during needling, and 8 patients had no experience of pain relief. The pain relief effect of acupuncture was not statistically related to gender, time of onset, concomitance of diabetes, and recurrence of cholecystitis, and was not significantly different between patients with WBC counts less than or more than 1.5 × 109/L. Conclusion: Acupuncture at GB34 and ST36 in most patients with acute calculous cholecystitis could instantly and considerably relieve right upper abdominal pain.