Acupuncture and Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Do Not Suppress Gag Reflex

Abstract

Objective: Gagging is a problem for many dental patients, as well as patients undergoing medical procedures, such as intubation. Research to date on the gag reflex has been limited by a lack of objective measures for measuring this reflex. Materials and Methods: A validated quantitative method was used to measure if acupuncture or transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) at Pericardium 6 (PC 6) and Stomach 36 (ST 36) suppressed the gag reflex, compared with a sham placebo. The subjects were 60 healthy adults randomly chosen to receive acupuncture, TEAS, or sham-TEAS on PC 6, located on the forearm, and ST 36, located on the lower leg. The gag reflex was measured by inserting a saliva ejector slowly down each participant's throat to determine the maximum tolerance of the gag reflex; the insertion length was used as an index of this reflex. Results: There was a significant difference in pre- and postintervention insertion lengths in all groups (paired t-test; all groups; P < 0.001). The differences in the insertion length among the groups (P = 0.76) and the interaction effect (group × time) were not significant (P = 0.79; 2-way analysis of variance). Conclusions: This study suggested that PC 6 and ST 36 stimulation was no different than placebo for alleviating the gag reflex.

Keywords: acupuncture; gag reflex; gagging; placebo; transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation.