Table 1 Details of interventions
Group names | Acupoints | De qi sensation | Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|
Acupuncture group | P6 (Neiguan) bilaterally | Yes | P6 at both sides is punctured perpendicularly to a depth of 20 mm. Needles are retained for 30 minutes and stimulated every 10 minutes to keep the de qi sensation. |
(group A) | |||
Sham-acupuncture control group | Sham points bilaterally | No | The sham point is punctured to a perpendicular depth of 5 mm bilaterally. Needles are retained for 30 minutes and no stimulation is performed during this duration. |
(group SA) | |||
TENS group | P6 (Neiguan) bilaterally | Yes | P6 acupoint at both sides is stimulated by active self-adhesive electrodes for 30 minutes. The stimulation frequency is set on 2 to 100 hertz and intensity varies until the patients continue to feel the de qi sensation. |
(group T) | |||
Placebo-TENS control group | P6 (Neiguan) bilaterally | No | Inactive self-adhesive electrodes are placed at the P6 acupoint bilaterally for 30 minutes. |
(group PT) | |||
Usual treatment group | — | — | — |
(group U) | Â | ||