Wrist-ankle acupuncture (WAA) shows promise in significantly reducing catheter-related bladder discomfort in patients who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate.
The team conducted research on a total of 46 patients who underwent the surgical process, referred to as Transurethral resection of the prostate, in a hospital from June 2022 to July 2022. Patients were randomly segregated into two groups: the Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture group, who received the acupuncture treatment, and the control group, who did not receive any such treatment. Specially designed penetrating needles were placed on the WAA patients for a period of 24 hours and non-penetrative sham needles were used on the control group. To evaluate their pain and overall situation after the procedure, indicators such as catheter-related bladder discomfort severity score, visual analogue scale and vital signs monitor were used.
In the discussion phase, it was observed that the severity of catheter-related bladder discomfort among the group that received Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture was lower compared to the control group who did not receive any acupuncture treatment. Also, patients from the WAA group reported lower pain scores. Interestingly, the study did not find significant changes in vital signs such as mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation. Furthermore, the trial was successfully carried on without any reported accident. It was thus concluded that Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture could potentially help in managing post-procedure discomfort related to urinary catheter in prostate surgery patients in a considerable manner.
