AURICULAR ACUPUNCTURE AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND ADVERSE CLINICAL EFFECTS MANIFESTED BY PATIENTS ON HEMODIALYSIS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Auricular acupuncture is a technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine, widely used as an auxiliary treatment in several diseases, aiming at the improvement of symptoms and clinical condition, being applied as a complementary alternative to drug treatment. The present study is an investigation of the results of research on the effects of auricular acupuncture on chronic kidney disease, considering hemodialysis treatment. Considered a global health problem due to the high number of incidence and deaths, chronic kidney disease has hemodialysis as a treatment method, which aims to supply compromised kidney function in more advanced stages of the disease. During and after hemodialysis sessions, patients commonly experience adverse symptoms, such as pain, headache, cramps, and hypotension/hypertension, which are associated with treatment conditions and which generally affect their perception of quality of life. Regarding the use of auricular acupuncture as a complementary non-pharmacological treatment tool for the control and reduction of adverse hemodialysis symptoms, good and promising results can be expected, considering the modulation of markers involved in inflammatory processes.