Influence of acupuncture on bioelectrical impedance measures in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: results of a pilot study

Grundmann, Oliver
Yoon, Saunjoo L
Williams, Joseph J

¹Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
²Department of Adult and Elderly Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
³Sunshine Integrative Health, Gainesville, Florida, USA

Correspondence to Dr Oliver Grundmann, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, PO Box 100485, Gainesville, FL 32610-0485, USA; [email protected]

Received September 9, 2014; Revised October 31, 2014; Accepted November 6, 2014; Published Online November 20, 2014

Contributors SLY, OG and JJW conceptualised the study. SLY and JJW conducted the study. OG, SLY and JJW analysed the data and contributed to the manuscript.

Funding The study was supported by the Research Professorship Award to SLY. The bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) device (ImpediMed Imp SFB7) was furnished free of charge for 1 year by ImpediMed Ltd, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia.

Competing interests None.

Ethics approval The study was approved by the University of Florida Institutional Review Board (IRB #732-2011).

Patient consent Obtained.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Acupuncture in Medicine 33(1):p 16-22, February 2015. | DOI: 10.1136/acupmed-2014-010667

ABSTRACT

Background

Patients with gastrointestinal cancers often suffer from malnutrition and cachexia caused by inflammatory processes due to malignancy and therapeutic intervention. Evaluation of nutritional status and well-being of patients is essential to prevent or slow down the progression of cachexia. In addition, acupuncture as a complementary intervention may help reduce cachexia and unintentional weight loss.

Methods

Seven patients with cancers of the gastrointestinal tract enrolled in this pilot study were provided with eight acupuncture sessions in addition to their regular treatment schedule. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measurements were taken at every other acupuncture session to evaluate the body composition of patients. BIA is a fast, inexpensive and non-invasive method for evaluating fluid, fat and muscle mass distribution which correlates with nutritional status.

Results

All patients enrolled in the pilot study completed the acupuncture intervention and BIA measurements. The average weight loss and reduction in body weight was 1.3%, which is less than the average weight loss of 5% reported in the literature. Both phase angle and fat-free mass decreased in patients, indicating a worsening of the condition. However, a shift from intracellular to extracellular fluid was not observed, which is usually associated with a loss of cell integrity.

Conclusions

This pilot study indicates that patients tolerate acupuncture treatments well. The BIA results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. A larger randomised placebo-controlled study is currently being conducted to further investigate the influence of acupuncture and to provide insights into BIA as a reliable tool for evaluating body composition in patients with gastrointestinal cancers.