Acupuncture helps relieve opioid-induce constipation in patients with cancer

An 8-week course of electroacupuncture appears to increase the frequency of spontaneous bowel movements and improve the quality of life in patients with cancer who are experiencing opioid-induced constipation, according to a study from China.

In the study, 100 adult patients (mean age 64.4 years; 56.0 percent men) with cancer and opioid-induced constipation were randomly assigned to receive 24 sessions of electroacupuncture (n=50) or sham electroacupuncture (n=50) over 8 weeks. All patients were followed up for another 8 weeks after treatment.

A total of 44 patients (88.0 percent) in the electroacupuncture group and 42 (84.0 percent) in the sham group received at least 20 (≥83.3 percent) sessions of treatment. The response rate at week 8 was significantly higher in the electroacupuncture group than in the sham group (40.1 percent, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 26.1–54.1 vs 9.0 percent, 95 percent CI, 0.5–17.4; difference, 31.1 percentage points, 95 percent CI, 14.8–47.6; p<0.001).

Compared with sham, electroacupuncture was associated with greater relief for most symptoms of opioid-induced constipation and better quality of life. Electroacupuncture did not exert any influence on cancer pain and its opioid treatment dosage.

In terms of safety, electroacupuncture-related adverse events were rare and mostly mild and transient.

The findings suggest that electroacupuncture may be a useful treatment alternative for opioid-induced constipation in adult patients with cancer.