Prospective, randomized, comparative study.~The disease to be studied is Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV). PONV, described by some as The Big Little Problem, has a great impact on patient´s satisfaction and the postoperative care needed. Considering the increase of outpatient surgery there is an expanding demand for effective PONV treatment to prevent delays in discharge or unplanned readmissions. The estimated annual costs of PONV in the U.S. per year are 100 million Dollars.~Approximately 75 million patients are anesthetized in the world annually. It is estimated that 20-30% of these patients experience PONV, reaching 80% in patients at high risk. This incidence of PONV has maintained despite the improvement in surgical and anesthetic techniques and advances in antiemetic pharmacology. Increasingly, acupuncture is becoming part of Western medicine as a complementary treatment. Acupuncture has been described to effectively reduce the symptoms of different diseases, including PONV.
To evaluate the Utility of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) in Ambulatory Surgery.