Study on acupuncture for side effects of etomidate anesthesia

Objective To evaluate the effect of acupuncture therapy on the side effect of Etomidate anesthesia and to determine the best timing of acupuncture intervention during Etomidate anesthesia. Methods Female patients with rectal cancer scheduled to receive radical resection were randomly divided into four groups: a control group (group I), a preoperative acupuncture group (group II), an intraoperative acupuncture group (group III), and a postoperative acupuncture group (group IV), 25 subjects in each group. The levels of serum cortisol, blood glucose, and gastrin of patients were monitored at the following time-points: preoperative (T0, when having entered the operating room), intraoperative (T1, 30 min after skin cutting), the end of operation (T2, after suturing skin), and postoperative (T3, postoperative 24 h). The cases with massive hemorrhage, unsteady vital sign during operation or operation time longer than 5 h were eliminated, and 92 cases were enrolled into the results of the study. Results The blood sugar in the four groups increased significantly at T2 and T3, compared to T0 ( P <0.05); the blood sugar reached 8.78±1,57) mmol/L at T2 in group, and the increase was statistically significant compared to those of the other groups ( P <0.05). The levels of serum cortisol of all patients were in normal range. Compare to T0, the cortisol level decreased in group I, III, IV at each point, and the decreases were statistically significant ( P <0.05). Compared to the other groups, the cortisol level was increased at T1 and T3 in group II, and the change was statistically significant ( P <0.05). Compared to T0, the gastrin level at T3 increased in group I, III and IV, but decreased in group II, and the changes had statistical significance ( P <0.05). Compared to the other groups, the decrease of gastrin level in group II at T3 was statistically significant ( P <0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture before operation can keep blood sugar and serum cortisol steady during Etomidate anesthesia and reduce gastrin after Etomidate anesthesia, hence regulating the Etomidate-related stress responses effectively.