[Electrothermal acupuncture in the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting:a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effectiveness and safety of electrothermal acupuncture in the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in the cancerous patients of phlegm-stasis interaction in cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.

METHODS: Sixty cases of phlegm-stasis interaction in cisplatin-containing chemotherapy were randomized into a trial group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the intravenous drip of granisetron hydrochloride injection was adopted, 3 mg before and after cisplatin-containing chemotherapy 30 min, continuously for 3 days. 43 to 45℃ electrothermal acupuncture at zusanli(ST 36) for 30 min was used on the basis of the treatment as the control group in the trial group,once a day for 3 days. CINV, anti-nausea effects, Karnofsky score, the syndrome score of phlegm-stasis interaction, and relevant indices of safety were observed on the 1st and 7th days of cisplatin-containing chemotherapy separately.

RESULTS: 1.Regarding CINV and anti-nausea effect, CINV did not occur before chemotherapy in the patients of the two groups. On the 1st and 7th days of chemotherapy, CINV in the trial group were milder than those in the control group (both P <0.05).The anti-nausea effects in the trail group were better than those of the control group.2.Regarding Karnofsky score and the syndrome score of phlegm-stasis interaction, the improvements on the 7th days of chemotherapy in the trial group were better than those in the control group, indicating the significant differences (both P <0.05). 3.Regarding the safety indies, there was no adverse reaction during the treatment in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The electrothermal acupuncture effectively relieves CINV, and improves self-care dbility and the symptoms of phlegm-stasis interaction.