Poster Number-40 - Effectiveness of Battlefield Acupuncture on Pain Outcomes at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center

Effectiveness of Battlefield Acupuncture on Pain Outcomes at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center 


Purpose: Over 50 percent of Veterans currently suffer from chronic pain in the United States. Battlefield acupuncture is a type of auricular acupuncture that is offered to Veterans as an alternative or adjunctive option to pain medications to reduce chronic pain. The theoretical mechanism involves semi-permanent, gold-plated needles being placed in the ear and interfering with pain in the central nervous system. This project’s purpose is to further analyze battlefield acupuncture’s effectiveness in managing chronic pain and decreasing the number of pain medications needed.

Methods:

This quality improvement project was approved by the P&T committee in September 2021. Assessment of effectiveness of battlefield acupuncture will include two parts – one being a retrospective chart review and the other a standardized questionnaire. Patients were included if they have completed at least one session of battlefield acupuncture from March 2021 to August 2021. Patients were excluded if they had an allergy to gold, refused therapy, had an aversion to needles, or were currently pregnant. This yielded a total of 293 patients.

 

Data collected through retrospective chart reviews included age, race, gender, and chronic pain indication. In addition to the retrospective chart review, standardized questionnaires were given via telephone or through face to face visit to assess Veteran perceived effectiveness. Questions asked assessed how effective patients have found BFA to be in alleviating their pain as well as how long pain relief lasted, any side effects of treatment, and if they would like to continue battlefield acupuncture in the future. If a participant did not desire to continue with treatment, they were asked the reason for discontinuation.

Results: The average age of patients was 55.5 years old. 69.3% of patients were male, and the majority of patients were either African American (55.5%) or Caucasian (41.6%). A variety of pain indications were seen, with the most common being back, knee, shoulder, and neck pain, as well as headache/migraine. 19.7% of patients had just one pain indication, 29.5% had two indications, and 50.7% of patients had three or more indications for BFA. 68% of patients found BFA to be beneficial in treating their chronic pain, with length of benefit most often being less than 2 weeks. Veterans who discontinued BFA most often did so due to ineffectiveness, with adverse effects being the second most common reason. The most common adverse effects involved external trauma to the ears.

Conclusion:

Battlefield acupuncture performed at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center from March 1, 2021 to August 31, 2021 provided benefit to over half of Veterans regarding pain reduction. Shorter follow-up visits may lead to improved outcomes, as Veterans most often reported pain relief lasting less than two weeks after receiving battlefield acupuncture. Adverse effects often involved external trauma to the ears. However, most adverse effects could likely be presumed as mild, as only 19% of Veterans who discontinued BFA did so because of this.

Further research should be done on the potential differences in effect among race, sex, and age. Further research should also be done to determine BFA’s effect on potential reduction of opioids and other pain medications.

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