Presentation summary

Perioperative medicine faces ongoing challenges : postoperative pain, anxiety, and nausea for patients, andstress/MSD for healthcare workers. Acupuncture and auriculotherapy is an effective treatment(1) which isrecognized by WHO(2) and integrates complementary therapies (CT) in medicine(3). Our anesthesiologist-ledintegrative CT service uses non-pharmacological methods to treat patients and staff providing a sustainable perioperative environment, supported by evidenced based medicine(4,5).

Method :
We developed a framework using a secure platform to assess complementary therapies forperioperative treatment, indications, techniques, patient demographics and efficacy. Surgical patients and staffprovided informed consent. University-certified CT trained anesthesiologists administered therapies to ensuresafety and effective treatment. Clinical activity was recorded and intervention efficacy was assessed on thereported percentage in improvement of symptoms at 5 minutes, 1 hour, and 24 hours post-intervention.

Results :
This report describes a successful anesthesiologist-led complementary therapy service, primarilyusing auriculotherapy and acupuncture, for perioperative patients and hospital staff. Over nine months in 2024,130 procedures were performed, increasing to 177 in the first half of 2025. Highest indication was for painmanagement (65.5% in 2025), followed by stress/anxiety (13.6%) and nausea (7.9%). Staff constituted 56% oftreatment recipients in 2025. Results showed moderate (>30%) to complete improvement in 82% of patientsand 74% of staff in 2024. These results align with existing literature(1,7), although limitations due to potentialcomplacency bias and declarative methodology should be considered.

Conclusion :
This innovative CT-service appeared to improve pain and stress. Auricular acupuncture emergedas the most practical therapy. Further research to analyse medico-economic impact of this service on patientand staff health would be interesting.