GB34 Acupuncture in Acute Cholecystitis

Acute cholecystitis is a frequent complication of gallbladder stones. The prevalence of gallbladder stone is 10-15% and in 35% of patients complications and recurrent symptoms develop in their lifetime. Acute cholecystitis is one of the most frequently encountered acute surgical conditions. It is manifested in 3-10% of patients referred to emergency departments with complaints of abdominal pain.

Although the gold standard of therapy is laparoscopic cholecystectomy in symptomatic cholecystitis and related complications, more than 70% of patients respond well to medical treatment at first place. Actually, timing of cholecystectomy was studied extensively, yet is still debatable. Early cholecystectomy is the operation performed within 72 hours of the beginning of the symptoms. Delayed cholecystectomy is the operation performed 6 weeks after the suppression of the inflammation. Investigators perform early cholecystectomy is in cases with perforation and complication like gangrenous or emphysematous acute cholecystitis whereas delayed cholecystectomy is preferred in the remaining patients.

In fact it is known for some time that ear and body acupuncture have modulatory effects on motor functions of gallbladder and even provide some improvement in acute cholecystitis. Previously, studies demonstrating that GB34 has specific effects on the motility of bile ducts were published. More recently, researchers were able to demonstrate that GB34 electro acupuncture have positive effects on gall bladder wall thickness and on WBC levels, by using an experimental rabbit model of acute cholecystitis. Additional functional MR studies were used to distinguish the neural specificity of the acupuncture points. GB34 were found to induce a specific response pattern which is more significant in motor functions in brain. Furthermore it is known for decades that acupuncture other than point specific effects, triggers self-healing mechanisms of the body via endogen pathways.