Response to “Assessing the Impact of Acupuncture on Pain, Nausea, Anxiety, and Coping in Women Undergoing a Mastectomy”

We read with interest the pilot randomized, controlled trial by Quinlan-Woodward et al. (2016) published in Oncology Nursing Forum about the impact of acupuncture on pain, nausea, anxiety, and coping in women undergoing a mastectomy. We think that there are both theoretical and methodologic issues that do not allow the authors to conclude that their study demonstrated that acupuncture delivered postoperatively in the hospital after mastectomy can reduce the severity of symptoms experienced and increase the patient’s ability to cope with her symptoms.