TY - JOUR
T1 - Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible and shows promise in reducing postoperative atrial fibrillation
T2 - The ACU-Heart pilot trial
AU - Feingold, Kim L.
AU - Moskowitz, Judith T.
AU - Elenbaas, Christian
AU - Andrei, Adin Cristian
AU - Victorson, David
AU - Kruse, Jane
AU - Grote, Veronika
AU - Patil, Kaustubha D.
AU - Shafiro, Tatyana
AU - Grimone, Ania
AU - Lin, Fang
AU - Davidson, Charles J.
AU - Ring, Melinda
AU - McCarthy, Patrick M.
N1 - Funding Information:
ACU-Heart is funded by a philanthropic gift from the Malkin Family Foundation . The support and generosity of the Malkin Family are greatly appreciated.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Objective: Acupuncture is an effective treatment for arrythmias and postoperative symptoms but has not been investigated after cardiac surgery. Acupuncture After Heart Surgery is a prospective, randomized, controlled pilot trial of daily inpatient acupuncture or standard care after valve surgery with the primary end point being feasibility and secondary end points being reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence and postoperative symptoms. Methods: A total of 100 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation underwent primary valve surgery via sternotomy and randomized 1:1 to acupuncture (51) or standard care (49). The acupuncture group received daily inpatient sessions starting on postoperative day 1. Postoperative symptoms (pain, nausea, stress, anxiety) were assessed once daily in the standard care group and before/after daily intervention in the acupuncture group. The groups were comparable except for age (acupuncture: 55.6 ± 11.4 years, standard care: 61.0 ± 9.3 years; P =.01). Results: The Acupuncture After Heart Surgery pilot trial met primary and secondary end points. There were no adverse events. An average of 3.8 (±1.1) acupuncture sessions were delivered per patient during a mean hospital stay of 4.6 days (±1.3). Acupuncture was associated with a reduction in pain, nausea, stress, and anxiety after each session (P <.0001), and patients receiving acupuncture had reduced postoperative stress and anxiety across admission compared with standard care (P =.049 and P =.036, respectively). Acupuncture was associated with reduced postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence (acupuncture: 7 [13.7%], standard care: 16 [32.7%]; P =.028), fewer discharges on amiodarone (acupuncture: 5 [9.8%], standard care: 13 [26.5%]; P =.03), and fewer hours in the intensive care unit (acupuncture: 30.3 ± 10.0, standard care: 37.0 ± 22.5; P =.057). Conclusions: Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible, is well tolerated, and has clinical benefit. The reduction noted in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence will inform larger trials designed to further investigate the impact of acupuncture on postoperative atrial fibrillation and medical outcomes.
AB - Objective: Acupuncture is an effective treatment for arrythmias and postoperative symptoms but has not been investigated after cardiac surgery. Acupuncture After Heart Surgery is a prospective, randomized, controlled pilot trial of daily inpatient acupuncture or standard care after valve surgery with the primary end point being feasibility and secondary end points being reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence and postoperative symptoms. Methods: A total of 100 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation underwent primary valve surgery via sternotomy and randomized 1:1 to acupuncture (51) or standard care (49). The acupuncture group received daily inpatient sessions starting on postoperative day 1. Postoperative symptoms (pain, nausea, stress, anxiety) were assessed once daily in the standard care group and before/after daily intervention in the acupuncture group. The groups were comparable except for age (acupuncture: 55.6 ± 11.4 years, standard care: 61.0 ± 9.3 years; P =.01). Results: The Acupuncture After Heart Surgery pilot trial met primary and secondary end points. There were no adverse events. An average of 3.8 (±1.1) acupuncture sessions were delivered per patient during a mean hospital stay of 4.6 days (±1.3). Acupuncture was associated with a reduction in pain, nausea, stress, and anxiety after each session (P <.0001), and patients receiving acupuncture had reduced postoperative stress and anxiety across admission compared with standard care (P =.049 and P =.036, respectively). Acupuncture was associated with reduced postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence (acupuncture: 7 [13.7%], standard care: 16 [32.7%]; P =.028), fewer discharges on amiodarone (acupuncture: 5 [9.8%], standard care: 13 [26.5%]; P =.03), and fewer hours in the intensive care unit (acupuncture: 30.3 ± 10.0, standard care: 37.0 ± 22.5; P =.057). Conclusions: Acupuncture after valve surgery is feasible, is well tolerated, and has clinical benefit. The reduction noted in postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence will inform larger trials designed to further investigate the impact of acupuncture on postoperative atrial fibrillation and medical outcomes.
KW - acupuncture
KW - cardiac surgery
KW - clinical trial
KW - postoperative atrial fibrillation
KW - valve surgery
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85163891109&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85163891109&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.xjon.2023.05.010
DO - 10.1016/j.xjon.2023.05.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85163891109
SN - 2666-2736
JO - JTCVS Open
JF - JTCVS Open
ER -