Wang BJ, et al. – This research was designed to investigate the clinical efficacy of ear acupuncture plus injection at Zusanli (ST 36) in treating shoulder pain after laparoscopic gynecological surgery, and to examine its effect on cytokines. Following laparoscopic gynecological surgery, ear acupuncture plus injection at Zusanli (ST 36) could significantly improve the shoulder pain, down–regulate the expressions of interleukin (IL)–6 and IL–10, and boost the recovery.

• The physicians randomized 200 patients with shoulder pain after laparoscopic gynecological surgery into 2 groups based on their visiting sequence, 100 cases each.
• The observation group was intervened by ear acupuncture plus injection at Zusanli (ST 36).
• The control group was intervened by oral administration of Ibuprofen, 10 d as a treatment course.
• They compared the clinical efficacies of the 2 groups after 2 treatment courses.
• They measured the visual analogue scale (VAS), present pain intensity (PPI) and 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) before and after the treatment.
• Also, they observed the changes of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 after the treatment.

• After the treatment, the VAS and PPI scores were significantly changed in both groups (both P<0.01).
• In the observation group, the VAS score was significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.05) after the treatment.
• In both groups, the component scores of SF-36 were significantly changed after the treatment (P<0.01).
• The scores of physical functioning (PF), bodily pain (BP), social functioning (SF), and mental health (MH) in the observation group were significantly different from those in the control group (all P<0.05) after the treatment.
• After the intervention, the contents of IL-6 and IL-10 dropped significantly in both groups (both P<0.01), and the between-group differences were also statistically significant (both P<0.01).
• Compared with the control group, the total effective rate of the observation group was higher (P<0.05).