The Safety of Acupuncture in Patients with Cancer Therapy–Related Thrombocytopenia
Cybularz PA, Brothers K, Singh GM, Feingold JL, Lewis ME, Niesley ML · Medical Acupuncture · 2015 June 01
DOI 10.1089/acu.2015.1099
Objective
To investigate the safety of acupuncture treatment in adult oncology patients with thrombocytopenia.
Conclusions
Acupuncture treatment appears to be safe in adult oncology patients with thrombocytopenia, as no adverse events of increased bruising or bleeding were reported during the study.
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Insights
Acupuncture appears to be a safe treatment method for thrombocytopenic adult cancer patients, with no adverse bruising or bleeding incidents reported.
In this study, the medical records of 684 patients who received acupuncture treatments at a private cancer treatment hospital were examined. The primary focus was on any adverse events that took place during periods of thrombocytopenia, a condition frequently encountered by cancer patients as a side effect of chemotherapy or radiation.
In terms of results, amongst 2135 visits that were suitable for evaluation, there were 98 acupuncture sessions involving patients with lower than normal platelet counts, and in none of these sessions was there any increase in bruising or bleeding observed. Even though the patients were potentially taking medications or nutritional supplements that might affect blood coagulation, no apparent adverse events arose from the use of acupuncture in this group.
