The Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Management of Postoperative Pain in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience resulting from tissue damage. Pain management is typically conducted according to the World Health Organization (WHO) pain management ladder. Analgesics administered to pediatric patients vary in dosage and type, but these analgesics often have significant side effects. The acupuncture technique using press needles is a non-pharmacological pain therapy modality that has been studied for its ability to reduce the use of analgesic drugs, thereby potentially decreasing side effects associated with analgesic use. The study was conducted using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design involving 70 pediatric postoperative patients aged 1-18 years who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Subjects were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The control group received standard analgesic therapy and sham press needle application (a patch resembling a press needle without a needle), while the experimental group received standard analgesic therapy and press needle application at acupuncture points after the patient had been in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for 24 hours. Pain scale monitoring was conducted at 1, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours using the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) scale for children aged 1-8 years, and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for children over 8 years old. This study hypothesizes that the acupuncture technique using press needles can reduce the pain scale in pediatric postoperative patients, leading to a decrease in the use of analgesics and a reduction in side effects associated with analgesic use.