The aim of the study is to test whether stimulation of acupuncture points CV24 and P6 is better than placebo acupuncture in treatment of gagging in patients undergoing elective transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)
Patients undergoing elective transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) often report discomfort because of active gagging reflex, which sometimes preclude the performance of TEE and requires additional medication. According to existing literature, needling of acupoint CV24 effectively prevents gagging during dental procedures. We are going to use this phenomenon in patients scheduled to TEE in order to reduce discomfort during insertion of TEE probe and reduce the need for additional sedative medication. Within this investigation the patients will be randomly assigned to receive either verum acupuncture of CV24 and P6 acupoints or placebo procedure immediately before TEE examination. As outcome the incidence and intensity of gagging, total dose of additional sedative medication and hemodynamic parameters will be recorded.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
60
Needling of P6 and CV24 points
Application of placebo acupuncture needles to the areas, where the acupoints are situated
University Medicine of Greifswald
Greifswald, Germany
RECRUITINGIncidence of gagging during probe insertion
Incidence of gagging during TEE probe insertion: yes=1; no=2
Time frame: 10 minutes after TEE probe insertion
Gagging score
Gagging score on Verbal Rating Scale from 0 to 10, where 0=no discomfort from TEE probe; 10=maximal discomfort during TEE probe insertion
Time frame: 10 minutes after TEE probe insertion
Rescue medication
Use of midazolam as rescue medication, given as a summary dose of required midazolam from minimum 1 milligram to maximum 10 milligram
Time frame: 10 minutes after TEE probe insertion
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