Tsai SL, Fox LM, Murakami M, Tsung JW. Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Nov;68(5):583-585.
PMID: 27287548 DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.05.006
"Abstract
The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization note that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for pain. Nonopioid treatment options for moderate to severe acute pain in the emergency department (ED) are limited. Additional strategies for managing acute pain in the ED are needed. Auricular Battlefield Acupuncture has been described as a simple, safe, rapid, and effective analgesic option to opioid medications in managing acute pain. We describe 4 cases in which emergency physicians with brief training performed this auricular acupuncture protocol to treat patients with acute pain in EDs when opioid analgesia was not an acceptable option."