Date of this Version

12-5-2021

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) can be an untoward side effect of surgery and anesthesia with higher incidences in women. This overarching problem can negatively affect patients, causing fear, discomfort, and potential complications. P6 acustimulation has been studied for years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for decreasing nausea and vomiting but is not widely used in the anesthesia community to treat PONV.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the effect of P6 acustimulation on nausea and vomiting in postsurgical women greater than 18 years old utilizing three databases: CINAHL, EMBASE, and PubMed. This systematic review will serve as the basis for objective two. (2) To demonstrate an increase in knowledge in anesthesia providers pertaining to P6 acustimulation in the treatment of PONV.

Methodology: Eight randomized control trials (RCTs) were evaluated in this systematic review containing a total of 784 women. The RCTs found a statistically significant decrease in PONV with the application of P6 acustimulation. With this information, a pre-test, educational module, and post-test were created for anesthesia providers to evaluate both baseline knowledge and knowledge growth.

Results: The statistical analysis between the pre-test and post-test showed an increase in provider knowledge. There was also an increase in the providers' likelihood to use P6 acustimulation if offered at their respective hospitals.

Conclusions: P6 acustimulation is a holistic, adjunctive treatment to traditional pharmacologic antiemetics that has been shown to reduce PONV effectively. Although not widely used in anesthesia practice, this educational intervention increased provider knowledge and the likelihood of implementing P6 acustimulation into practice. Continual implementation of this quality improvement project has the potential to decrease PONV and increase patient comfort.

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