The use of acupuncture for craniotomy may improve analgesia, reduce the required anesthetic dosage, and decrease postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), according to a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology (2016 Mar 10. [Epub ahead of print]). Acupuncture also might have protective effects on brain tissue, according to this analysis.
“Acupuncture treatment has been used in China for [more than] 2,500 years, and at present it