Acupuncture for Vasectomy Pre-procedural Anxiety and Pain Control in the Primary Care Setting

Acupuncture involving the Koffman protocol (body acupuncture) for anxiety control (needles will be placed at bilateral LR-3, bilateral LI-4, GV 24.5 and GV 20) and Auricular ATP Plus (ear) for pain control (needles will be placed at points hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, Point Zero, Shen Men, vagus, insula, external genitalia). Subjects who tolerate the auricular needles will be offered replacement with ASP acupuncture needles for continued pain management post-procedure. The subjects will receive local anesthetic during the vasectomy per standardized clinic protocol.

The clinic standardized pre-procedure medications alone (which include diazepam 5 mg by mouth (PO) x1 30 minutes prior to the procedure, an additional 5 mg PO x1 15 minutes later if desired effect is not achieved; and oxycodone/acetaminophen 5/325 mg PO x 1 30 minutes prior to the procedure. The subjects will receive local anesthetic during the vasectomy per standardized clinic protocol.