Cochrane review summary for cancer nursing: acupuncture-point stimulation for chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting.

Background Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting can significantly lower a patient’s quality of life. Despite recent advances in antiemetic drugs, management of these symptoms remains challenging. Therefore, oncology teams including nurses and physicians are required to have a good understanding of the effectiveness of available adjunctive therapies to alleviate these symptoms. This systematic review examined evidence on the use of various types of acupuncture-point stimulation for chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting, including manual and electro acupuncture, acupressure, and noninvasive electro stimulation.Manual acupuncture involves insertion and manual rotation of needles, whereas electro acupuncture uses electrical stimuli via inserted needles. Noninvasive electro stimulation methods provide electro stimuli on the surface of skin without using needles, and acupressure provides pressure on the point by fingers or other devices, which can be easily self-administered by patients.