Clinical Data Analysis of 10,152 Patients Treated with Acupuncture during Perioperative Period

Objective: To analyze applications of acupuncture treatments during perioperative period and foresee the development of acupuncture in general hospitals by analyzing the clinical data of 10,152 patients treated with acupuncture during perioperative period. Methods: Extracted the perioperative acupuncture treatment records from surgical departments from January 2015 to December 2020 through the Information Management Center of Qilu Hospital. Diagnosis, primary disease, and the department applying for perioperative acupuncture treatments were extracted from their medical records. Frequency of perioperative acupuncture treatments from each department, diseases treated by acupuncture, and primary diseases were counted. The number of acupuncture treatments were counted though the Lianzhong Digital Medical Record Retrieval System of the hospital and effectiveness was evaluated according to the course of disease. Results: There were 10,152 perioperative acupuncture treatments from 17 surgical departments with 43 wards. Each ward had at least one request for acupuncture treatments every month, and the utilization rate of acupuncture increased year over year. The top five departments with the highest number of requests for perioperative acupuncture treatments were the gynecology department, orthopedics department, neurosurgery department, general surgery department and urology department. Acupuncture was mainly used to promote gastrointestinal function (50%) and nerve function (39%), followed by promoting recovery of bladder function (6%) and other diseases existing in the perioperative period (5%). The effectiveness is recognized by patients and surgeons. Conclusion: Acupuncture has been widely used in postoperative rehabilitation and can go further. The treatment of perioperative conditions is an opportunity for the development of acupuncture in general hospitals.