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Acupuncture has been used in the Far East for more than 2000 years. Since the early 1970s, this technique has been gaining popularity among Western medical community. A number of studies suggest that its mechanism of effect can be explained in biomedical terms. In this context, a number of transmitters and modulators including beta-endorphin, serotonin, substance P, interleukins, and calcitonin gene-related peptide are released. For that reason, acupuncture can be used in a wide variety of clinical conditions. Studies showed that acupuncture may have beneficial effect in perioperative period. It relieves preoperative anxiety, decreases postoperative analgesic requirements, and decreases the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. In this review article, we examine perioperative use of acupuncture for a variety of conditions., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ear-press needle acupuncture on Yintang point for preoperative anxiety., Design: This was a prospective, randomized, single-blind, controlled study., Settings/location: The study setting was the Department of Anesthesiology in Ankara Training and Research Hospital of Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey., Subjects: The study comprised 52 adult surgical patients., Interventions: A single, 20-minute session of single-point acupuncture was applied on Yintang (acupuncture group) or sham point (sham acupuncture group)., Outcome Measures: The efficacy of acupuncture was evaluated by means of the changes in bispectral index (BIS) and STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Index)., Results: BIS values in the acupuncture group were significantly lower than in the sham group in all time intervals (p<0.0042). BIS values were lower than baseline in the study group during the entire study period (p<0.0004) while no such effect has been observed in the sham group (p>0.0004). Mean values of state anxiety (STAI-S) decreased after acupuncture in the study group (p=0,018), while no change was observed in trait anxiety (STAI-T) (p=0.156). Patients of the sham group showed no change in both parameters (p=0.387 and p=0,116)., Conclusions: Ear-press needle acupuncture on Yintang point reduces preoperative anxiety in adult surgical patients.