National Clinical Research Alliance of Acupunture Anesthesia Has Been Set Up in Shanghai to Perform Works on Five Major Points
Acupuncture anesthesia is an interdisciplinary field that combines acupuncture, surgery, anesthesia, neurophysiology, and more. It is one of the most original medical technologies in modern Chinese medical history. The World Health Organization has evaluated it as one of the five major achievements in Chinese medical science research.
On January 11th, 2025, the National Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Alliance was established in Shanghai, and the First Modern Acupuncture Anesthesia Academic Forum was held simultaneously.
The director of the Chinese Acupuncture Society’s Acupuncture Anesthesia Branch Committee and the director of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association’s Integrated Traditional and Western Cardiosurgery Committee, Zhou Jia, serves as the general leader of this alliance. The alliance is based at Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (简称 Shanghai Yueyang Hospital), and includes 68 member units from across the country. It is divided into acupuncture, anesthesia, surgery, hospital management, and party building science popularization groups. The main work will focus on five key areas: the construction of standardized operational norms for acupuncture anesthesia techniques, the improvement of clinical capabilities for treating advantages of acupuncture anesthesia, the popularization of science about acupuncture anesthesia techniques, the exploration of the mechanism of acupuncture anesthesia effects, and the training of leading and backbone talents in acupuncture anesthesia.
At this conference, Li Yi, the dean of Shanghai Yueyang Hospital, pointed out that over the years, in the clinical practice of acupuncture anesthesia technology, Professor Zhou Jia’s acupuncture anesthesia team has started with the most difficult heart and lung surgeries, and innovatively proposed the concept of “light sleep and spontaneous breathing” combined with modern acupuncture anesthesia technology. In recent years, the team has expanded the application of modern acupuncture anesthesia technology to surgeries involving the head, abdomen, pelvic region, and limbs, and subsequently expanded its radiometric effect to the entire perioperative period. Currently, the annual number of acupunture anesthesia surgeries performed by Shanghai’s acupunture anesthesia team is nearly 10,000 cases. By 2024, more than 8000 cases were performed at Shanghai Yueyang Hospital alone.
“For patients, using acupuncture anesthesia for surgery compared to traditional surgery can reduce some complications, patients recover faster, and the overall cost of surgery and subsequent rehabilitation can be reduced by about 20%.” Zhou Jia stated that modern acupuncture anesthesia also provides an opportunity for patients who are allergic to anesthetics to undergo surgical treatment.
“We hope to use evidence-based scientific methods to continuously research and solve key theoretical and methodological issues in the field of acupuncture anesthesia. We also hope to establish a good operating mechanism through this alliance to scientifically and effectively promote acupuncture anesthesia – a Chinese original integrated traditional and Western medicine treasure – nationwide, and strive to make this technology go abroad and towards the world.” Zhou Jia said.
