Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with epidural injection of small dose of anesthetic for cholecystectomy. Methods: 106 cholecystectomy patients were randomly divided into acupuncture + epidural administration of anesthetic (A+EAA) group (n=35)

electrical stimulation + EAA (ES+EAA) group (n=35) and EAA group (n=36). Bilateral Neiguan (PC 6) and Zusanli (ST 36) were used for electroacupuncture (2～3 mA

2/15 Hz

sparse dense waves) and electrical stimulation (11～12 mA

2/15 Hz

sparse dense waves) in A+EAA and ES+EAA groups. Before anesthesia

all the patients were given with intramuscular injection of atropine (0.5 mg/50 kg body weight) and luminal sodium (0.1 g/50 kg)

and during operation they were given with intravenous drip of meperidine (1 mg/kg). Epidural anesthetic used was lidocaine (1.5%

5 mL) with epinephrine (E) for patients without contraindications or with E. Results: In A+EAA

ES+EAA and EAA groups

the excellent rates of anesthetic effect were 80.00% (28 cases)

68.57% (24 cases) and 25% (9 cases); the good rates were 20.00% (7 cases)

28.57% (10 cases) and 61.11% (22); and the poor effect rates were 0 (0)

2.86% (1 case) and 13.89% (5 cases) respectively. The doses of lidocaine used in the first hour of operation in A+EAA and ES+EAA were significantly lower than that of EAA group (P<0.005)

being EAA 35.43% and 30.62% respectively less than that of EAA group

but the blocked nerve segments were respectively 2 and 3 more than those of EAA group. During operation

the indices of HR

BP

MBP

RR

TV

MV

SPO 2 and ECG kept basically stable and the operation were conducting smoothly. Conclusion: Acupuncture and acupoint electrical stimulation combined with epidural administration of small dose of anesthetic may be used as one of the effective anesthetic methods for cholecystectomy.