Exploring the Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Therapy on Patients After Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital

Status: Invitation-only

Conditions: Pain, Postoperative

Treatments: Device: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS); Drug: Standard Analgesia; Device: Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07287657

Lin,Chun-Ya

Details and patient eligibility

About

Thoracic surgery is known to be one of the most painful types of surgery. If acute postoperative pain is not properly managed, there is a high risk that it may develop into clinically significant chronic pain within six months after surgery, which can seriously affect quality of life. According to research on Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), using multimodal pain management strategies can significantly reduce postoperative pain and decrease reliance on pain medications. This study aims to investigate whether combining transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation therapy with conventional pain management can further enhance pain relief and improve recovery outcomes.

Full description

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of three postoperative analgesic strategies in patients undergoing lesion resection via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Under standard postoperative care protocols, patients will be randomized into three groups: (1) conventional pharmacologic analgesia alone, (2) conventional analgesia combined with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and (3) conventional analgesia combined with both transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS). The primary outcomes include the assessment of acute postoperative pain intensity, blood inflammatory biomarkers, health-related quality of life, and the incidence of postoperative complications. This investigation seeks to determine whether adjunctive use of neuromodulatory techniques such as TENS and TEAS can enhance analgesic efficacy and improve postoperative recovery profiles.

Enrollment: 90 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 15+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• People who are about to undergo thoracic surgery

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with epilepsy,
• Pacemaker installed
• Severe infections status

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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90 participants in 3 patient groups

Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants receive standard postoperative analgesia according to institutional protocol.

Treatment:

Drug: Standard Analgesia

TENS Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive standard postoperative analgesia combined with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

Treatment:

Drug: Standard Analgesia

Device: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS + TEAS Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive standard postoperative analgesia combined with both transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS).

Treatment:

Device: Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS)

Drug: Standard Analgesia

Device: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)