Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Reduces Postoperative Analgesic Requirement in Patients Undergoing Inguinal Hernia Repair: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.
Mateusz SzmitSiddarth AgrawalWaldemar GoździkAndrzej KüblerAnil AgrawalPiotr PruchnickiMarta WoźniakMatylda NowakBartłomiej BartoszewiczJerzy RudnickiPublished in: Journal of clinical medicine (2021)
Given the rising rate of opioid-related adverse drug events during postsurgical pain management, a nonpharmacologic therapy that could decrease analgesic medication requirements would be of immense value. We designed a prospective, placebo-and-randomized controlled trial to assess the clinical effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TEAS) on the postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) requirement for morphine, as well as side effects and recovery profile after inguinal hernia repair. Seventy-one subjects undergoing inguinal hernia repair with a standardized anesthetic technique were randomly assigned to one of three analgesic treatment regimens: PCA + TEAS (n = 24); PCA + sham-TEAS (no electrical stimulation) (n = 24), and PCA only (n = 23). The postoperative PCA requirement, pain scores, opioid-related side effects, and blood cortisol levels were recorded. TEAS treatment resulted in a twofold decrease in the analgesic requirement and decreased pain level reported by the patients. In addition, a significant reduction of cortisol level was reported in the TEAS group at 24 h postoperatively compared to the sham and control groups. We conclude that TEAS is a safe and effective option for reducing analgesic consumption and postoperative pain following inguinal hernia repair.
Keyphrases
- pain management
- patients undergoing
- chronic pain
- neuropathic pain
- adverse drug
- postoperative pain
- randomized controlled trial
- anti inflammatory
- spinal cord injury
- double blind
- end stage renal disease
- healthcare
- newly diagnosed
- emergency department
- clinical trial
- stem cells
- prognostic factors
- bone marrow
- drug induced
- patient reported
- ultrasound guided
- open label