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

Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) pain scale,Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain scale

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.