Preoperative Acupuncture for Total Knee or Hip Arthroplasty

Open-label, randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of preoperative acupuncture on preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain for high-anxiety patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty. The hypothesis is that preoperative acupuncture will reduce preoperative anxiety, reduce postoperative pain, reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting, reduce opioid consumption, and improve patient satisfaction.

Acupuncture has been extensively practiced and studied worldwide, particularly as a part of Eastern medicine, but it is a relatively uncommon therapy offered in Western medical institutions, such as those in the United States. Considering the commonly cited benefits of acupuncture, such as reduced anxiety and pain, hospitals throughout the United States have the opportunity to implement acupuncture as a cost-effective and safe technique for improving surgical outcomes.

Acupuncture administered in the preoperative period can be particularly effective for reducing preoperative anxiety, postoperative pain, postoperative opioid consumption, and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Consequently, preoperative acupuncture can improve patient satisfaction and decrease hospital costs. However, due to a lack of implementation and experience, further research is needed to establish the safety and efficacy of preoperative acupuncture in United States medical practices.

At the Bone-and-Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital, where this study is proposed, a quality study on total knee or hip arthroplasty patients found that 21% of its monthly patients were "high-anxiety" according to the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). Thus, there is a significant population of patients who would benefit from a procedure to reduce preoperative anxiety at our facility.

This proposal is for a prospective, open-label, randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of preoperative acupuncture on preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain for high-anxiety patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty. The hypothesis is that preoperative acupuncture will reduce preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain as well as reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting and opioid consumption and improve patient satisfaction. The study population is to include adult patients undergoing lower extremity total joint arthroplasty, including hip and knee joints, at the Bone-and-Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Female (age 52 to 85) or male (age 18-85) patients undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty or Total Hip Arthroplasty at the Bone-and Joint Institute at Hartford Hospital
* Patients classified as high-anxiety based on having a score of \>10 on the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS-A-T). The APAIS-A-T is a modified survey that reliably quantifies total preoperative anxiety using summed scores for anesthesia and surgery-related anxiety; a minimum score of 11 is the most accurate cutoff to identify patients with anxiety

Exclusion Criteria:

* Unable to give consent
* Uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c ≥ 8.0%)
* Infection at any of the acupuncture points
* Known allergy to metals
* Abnormal laboratory blood work values (INR\>1.5, if available; platelet count \<70,000, if available)
* Patients with active ongoing coagulopathy based on lab data (INR \>1.5) and/or on current anticoagulant use which increases bleeding risk.
* Non-English speaking
* Revision TKA or THA
* Women of reproductive age or under the age of 52 years old, as acupuncture is not recommended during pregnancy. They were excluded due to the potential conflict between our institute's standard timing for pregnancy tests on the day of surgery and the scheduled preoperative acupuncture session for the study, to avoid unwanted delays in the operating room schedule.