Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2002; 7: 117
To find clues as to necessary precautions against acupuncturists’ negligence.
At our clinic, we made a rule that incidents during and after acupuncture treatment sessions had to be reported. We defined ‘incident’ not only as an adverse event that actually occurred, but also as an event that nearly occurred. During the 10 months from April 2000 to January 2001, 8908 treatment sessions were performed, and 35 incident reports of forgotten needles after needle-retention technique were recorded. We analysed these reports.
Seventeen acupuncturists out of 29 were responsible for the incidents. In two cases, the retained needles were found at the patient’s home or in the patient’s car. Other cases were ‘near misses’ or actually occurred during practice. The needles were found mainly in the lower extremities or the head, where they had been hidden by a towel or the hair. In nine cases, the acupuncturists that caused the incidents were acting on behalf of the acupuncturist that had inserted the needles. In July, August, December and January, when the acupuncturists had no teaching duties, the incidence was remarkably lower (0.11%, 0.22%, 0.11% and 0.13%, respectively) compared with the overall incidence (0.39%). The Yatabe–Gilford test showed no characteristic personality of repeaters.
The results suggest that forgotten needles occur because of lack of concentration, communication and confirmation.
