Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, note that acupressure, unlike the sedating drugs currently in use, does not cause nausea and does not prolong sedation.

"Anxiety in children before surgery is bad because of the emotional toll on the child and parents, and this anxiety can lead to prolonged recovery and the increased use of analgesics for post-operative pain," study leader Dr. Zeev Kain says in a statement. "We have an obligation to look at integrative treatments like acupressure as a way to improve the surgery experience."

In the study, colleagues of Kain and Dr. Shu-Ming Wang of Yale University applied adhesive acupressure beads to 52 children ages 8 through 17 about to undergo endoscopic stomach surgery.

In half the children, a bead was applied to the acupuncture point -- Extra-1 acupoint -- located midpoint between the eyebrows. In the others, the bead was applied to a spot with no reported clinical effects -- above the left eyebrow.

The study, published in Anesthesia & Analgesia, found that 30 minutes later there were decreased anxiety levels in the children with beads at the Extra-1 acupoint, but anxiety levels increased in the other group.

The study, published in Anesthesia & Analgesia.