Effects of acupuncture at Pericardium-6 and Stomach-36 on nausea, sedation and gastrointestinal motility in healthy dogs administered intravenous lidocaine infusions

• Published in: PloS one 2019-12, Vol.14 (12), p.e0226065-e0226065
• Main Authors: St James, Mariko L, Kosanovich, DeAnna L, Snyder, Lindsey B, Zhao, Qianqian, Jones, Brian G, Johnson, Rebecca A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Acupuncture Points; Acupuncture Therapy; Anesthesia; Animals; Barium; Biology and Life Sciences; Bladder; Conscious Sedation; Dogs; Emptying; Female; Gastric emptying; Gastric Emptying - drug effects; Gastric motility; Gastrointestinal Motility - drug effects; Hypotheses; Infusions, Intravenous; Intestine; Intravenous administration; Laboratory animals; Large intestine; Lidocaine; Lidocaine - administration & dosage; Lidocaine - adverse effects; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motility; Nausea; Nausea - chemically induced; Nausea - diagnostic imaging; Nausea - prevention & control; Pericardium; Polyethylene; Polyethylenes; Radiography; Stomach; Transit time; Veterinary medicine; Vomiting
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226065

The objectives of this study were to assess gastrointestinal transit times, sedation, and signs of nausea associated with intravenous lidocaine infusions in dogs following targeted acupuncture at Pericardium-6 (PC6) and Stomach-36 (ST36). In a randomized, blind crossover design, 6 healthy, adult Beagles were fed thirty 1.5 mm barium-impregnated polyethylene spheres (BIPS), then were subject to 30 minutes of: 1) no acupuncture, 2) bilateral targeted acupuncture at PC6 and ST36, or 3) bilateral non-target acupuncture at Lung-5 (LU5) and Bladder-55 (BL55). Lidocaine was immediately administered at 1 mg/kg intravenously followed by 50 μg/kg/min. BIPS were tracked radiographically; sedation and nausea were scored at baseline (Time 0) and for 11 hours during lidocaine infusions. Transit times and sedation and nausea scores were analyzed with a linear mixed-effects model; the number of BIPS at defined time points was analyzed with a piecewise linear mixed-effects model. All P values were two-sided and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Sedation and nausea scores did not differ between treatments at any time point (all P > 0.05). However, nausea scores in all groups were significantly greater at Times 5 through 7 and at Time 11 compared to Time 0 whereas sedation scores in all groups were significantly greater at Times 2 through 11 compared to Time 0 (all P < 0.05). The number of BIPs found out of the stomach, the number found in the large intestine, gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit times did not differ between treatments (all P > 0.05). Acupuncture at PC6 and ST36 did not alleviate nausea and sedation associated with lidocaine infusions in clinically normal animals or affect gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit.