Abstract

Background

Transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) has shown benefits when used peri-operatively. However, the role of numbers of areas with acupoint stimulation is still unclear. Therefore, we report the protocol of a randomized controlled trial of using TEAS in elderly patients subjected to gastrointestinal surgery, and comparing dual-acupoint and single-acupoint stimulation.

Methods/design

A multicenter, randomized, controlled, three-arm design, large-scale trial is currently undergoing in four hospitals in China. Three hundred and forty-five participants are randomly assigned to three groups in a 1:1:1 ratio, receiving dual-acupoint TEAS, single-acupoint TEAS, and no stimulation, respectively. The primary outcome is incidence of pulmonary complications at 30 days after surgery. The secondary outcomes include the incidence of pulmonary complications at 3 days after surgery; the all-cause mortality within 30 days and 1 year after surgery; admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and length of ICU stay within 30 days after surgery; the length of postoperative hospital stay; and medical costs during hospitalization after surgery.

Discussion

The result of this trial (which will be available in September 2019) will confirm whether TEAS before and during anesthesia could alleviate the postoperative pulmonary complications after gastrointestinal surgery in elderly patients, and whether dual-acupoint stimulation is more effective than single-acupoint stimulation.

Trials registrations

ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03230045. Registered on 10 July 2017.

Details

Title
Effect of dual-acupoint and single-acupoint electric stimulation on postoperative outcomes in elderly patients subjected to gastrointestinal surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Author
Lu, Zhi-hong 1 ; Dong, Hai-long 1 ; Huang-fu, Jia-wen 1 ; Fan, Xiao-jian 1 ; Zhao, Wei-xian 2 ; Min, Su 3 ; Zhang, Wei 4 ; Liu, Ming-fu 1 ; Wang, Yong-hui 1 ; Wang, Li-ni 1 ; Xiong, Li-ze 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Department of Anesthesiology, Xi’an, China (GRID:grid.417295.c) (ISNI:0000 0004 1799 374X) 
2  Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Guangzhou, China (GRID:grid.413402.0) 
3  First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Department of Anesthesiology, Chongqing, China (GRID:grid.452206.7) 
4  First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Department of Anesthesiology, Zhengzhou, China (GRID:grid.412633.1) 
Pages
669
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Dec 2018
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
17456215
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-3052-2
ProQuest document ID
2795327551
Copyright
© The Author(s). 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.