Korean researchers studied a non-pharmacological therapy for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) – capsicum plaster (PAS) – at either the Korean hand acupuncture point K-D2 or the Chinese acupuncture point Pericardium 6 (P6) of both hands. A total of 160 healthy patients were included in a randomised, double-blinded study: 60 patients were in the control group, 50 patients were in the K-D2 group, and 50 patients were in the P6 group. Capsicum plaster was applied at the K-D2 point in the K-D2 group and at the P6 point in the P6 group, whereas in the control group, an inactive tape was fixed at the K-D2 point of both hands. The PAS was applied before the induction of anaesthesia and removed 8 h after surgery. The incidence of PONV and the need for rescue medication were evaluated at predetermined intervals. In the treatment group, the incidence of vomiting was significantly less (22% for the K-D2 group and 26% for the P6 group) than in the control group (56.7%) at 24 h after surgery. The need for rescue antiemetics was significantly less in the treatment groups compared with the control group. The authors concluded that PAS at the Korean hand acupuncture point K-D2 was an effective method for reducing PONV, as was PAS at the P6 acupoint, after abdominal hysterectomy.