Can Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Improve the Quality of Recovery After Thyroidectomy?

Fujian Provincial Hospital

Status: Completed

Conditions: Postoperative Complications

Treatments: Device: the Hans electronic acupuncture apparatus

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02333747

K2014-12-003

Details and patient eligibility

About

The effect of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on the quality of recovery in patients undergoing thyroidectomy surgery remains unclear. Therefore, the investigators conducted this prospective, randomized, double-blind study to verify the hypothesis that pre-operative TEAS could improve the quality of recovery (QoR) after thyroidectomy surgery.

Full description

Transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is a form of non-invasive electrical stimulation that produces a perceptible sensation via electrodes attached to the skin. It has no risk of infections and can potentially be applied by medical personnel with minimal training. Clinical trials have demonstrated that TEAS reduces the consumption of intra-operative anesthetics and general anesthesia related side-effects.

Enrollment: 84 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Consecutive female patients aged 18 to 60 with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA) physical status I or II, who underwent general anesthesia for elective thyroidectomy surgery

Exclusion criteria

• potentially difficult airway,
• a history of chronic pain,
• drug or alcohol abuse,
• mental disorder,
• intake of any analgesic drug within 48 h before surgery, and
• previous experience with acupuncture treatment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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84 participants in 2 patient groups

the TEAS group

Experimental group

Description:

Patients in the TEAS group received pre-operative TEAS for 30 min before the induction of anesthesia using the Hans electronic acupuncture apparatus (HANS-100A, Nanjing Jisheng Medical Technology Company, Nanjing, China) in the holding area. TEAS was applied to two pairs of acupoints: bilateral Hegu (LI4) and Neiguan (PC6).

Treatment:

Device: the Hans electronic acupuncture apparatus

the sham group

Sham Comparator group

Description:

In the sham group, the patients were connected to the Hans electronic acupuncture apparatus (HANS-100A, Nanjing Jisheng Medical Technology Company, Nanjing, China), but electronic stimulation was not applied.

Treatment:

Device: the Hans electronic acupuncture apparatus