Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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The effects of acupuncture on health are generally hard to assess. Stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point is used to obtain an antiemetic effect and this provides an excellent model to study the efficacy of acupuncture. Thirty-three controlled trials have been published worldwide in which the P6 acupuncture point was stimulated for treatment of nausea and/or vomiting associated with chemotherapy, pregnancy, or surgery. ⋯ The reviewed papers showed consistent results across different investigators, different groups of patients, and different forms of acupuncture point stimulation. Except when administered under anaesthesia, P6 acupuncture point stimulation seems to be an effective antiemetic technique. Researchers are faced with a choice between deciding that acupuncture does have specific effects, and changing from 'Does acupuncture work?' to a set of more practical questions; or deciding that the evidence on P6 antiemesis does not provide sufficient proof, and specifying what would constitute acceptable evidence.
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The effects of acupuncture on health are generally hard to assess. Stimulation of the P6 acupuncture point is used to obtain an antiemetic effect and this provides an excellent model to study the efficacy of acupuncture. Thirty-three controlled trials have been published worldwide in which the P6 acupuncture point was stimulated for treatment of nausea and/or vomiting associated with chemotherapy, pregnancy, or surgery. ⋯ The reviewed papers showed consistent results across different investigators, different groups of patients, and different forms of acupuncture point stimulation. Except when administered under anaesthesia, P6 acupuncture point stimulation seems to be an effective antiemetic technique. Researchers are faced with a choice between deciding that acupuncture does have specific effects, and changing from 'Does acupuncture work?' to a set of more practical questions; or deciding that the evidence on P6 antiemesis does not provide sufficient proof, and specifying what would constitute acceptable evidence.