Effect of electroacupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) on pulmonary function during one-lung ventilation in patients with lobectomy

Abstract

To observe the protective effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at Neiguan (PC 6) on pulmonary function during one-lung ventilation (OLV) in patients with lobectomy, and explore its action mechanism. Sixty patients with lobectomy were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. The patients in the control group were treated with general anesthesia, and OLV was given when surgery began; when the surgery finished, air was removed from the thoracic cavity and two-lung ventilation was performed. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with EA (disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/100 Hz of frequency) at Neiguan (PC 6) 30 min before anesthesia induction until the end of the surgery. The pulmonary function indexes [arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), oxygenation index (OI), compliance of lung (CL), respiratory index (RI)] and serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were observed before surgery (T0), 30 min into OLV (T1), 60 min into OLV (T2) and after operation (T3). The total incidence of complications, pressing times of postoperative patient-controlled analgesia pump in 48 h after surgery and hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Compared with T0, the PaO2, OI, CL and serum SOD at T1, T2 and T3 in the two groups were decreased (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The RI and serum levels of MDA, IL-6, TNF-α at T1, T2 and T3 in the two groups were increased, and those in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The total incidence of complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group [3.3% (1/30) vs 23.3% (7/30), P<0.05]. The pressing times of postoperative patient-controlled analgesia pump in 48 h after surgery and hospital stay in the observation group were less than those in the control group (P<0.05). EA at Neiguan (PC 6) has protective effects on lung injury induced by OLV after lobectomy, and its mechanism may be related to the improvement of oxidative stress and inflammatory response.