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AMBULATORY ANESTHESIA

Acupressure on the Extra 1 Acupoint: The Effect on Bispectral Index, Serum Melatonin, Plasma ß-Endorphin, and Stress

Argyro Fassoulaki, MD, PhD, DEAA^*, Anteia Paraskeva, MD, DEAA^*, Georgia Kostopanagiotou, MD^*, Eleftheria Tsakalozou, MSc, and Sophia Markantonis, PhD

From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Aretaieio Hospital, Medical School; and Laboratory of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, School of Pharmacy, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Address correspondence to A. Fassoulaki, MD, PhD, DEAA, 57-59 Raftopoulou St., 11744 Athens, Greece. Address e-mail to afassou1{at}otenet.gr or fassoula{at}aretaieio.uoa.gr.

BACKGROUND: Acupressure on the "extra 1" point decreases bispectral index (BIS) values and stress.

METHODS: We investigated the BIS, melatonin, ß-endorphin, and verbal stress score values before, after 10 min of acupressure application on the extra 1 point, on a sham point, after no acupressure, and 1 h after completion of each intervention in 12 volunteers.

RESULTS: The BIS and verbal stress score values were decreased after acupressure on the extra 1 point (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.008, respectively), but melatonin and ß-endorphin did not change.

CONCLUSION: Acupressure on the extra 1 point has no effect on melatonin and ß-endorphin levels.

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