Effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation on venous thrombosis after lung cancer surgery: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

To observe the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on venous thrombosis and quality of life after lung cancer surgery, basing on the conventional nursing and early functional exercise. A total of 120 patients diagnosed as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and received radical resection of lung cancer surgery for the first time were randomized into a conventional nursing group, a rehabilitation training group and a TEAS group, 40 cases in each group. Conventional nursing was adopted in the conventional nursing group. Conventional nursing combined with early functional exercise were adopted in the rehabilitation training group, the exercise was taken 20 min each time, once in both morning and afternoon for 5 days. On the basis of the treatment in the rehabilitation training group, TEAS was applied at Zusanli (ST 36), Xuehai (SP 10), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), etc. in the TEAS group, with disperse-dense wave in frequency of 30 Hz/100 Hz and tolerable intensity, 30 min each time, once in both morning and afternoon for 5 days. The incidence of venous thrombosis in each group was observed at the 5th day after surgery. Before surgery and at the 5th day after surgery, the Caprini thrombus risk assessment was performed, the Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scale and the functional assessment of cancer therapy-lung (FACT-L) were used to evaluate the quality of life. At the 5th day after surgery, no thrombosis was found in the TEAS group, the incidence of venous thrombosis in the TEAS group was lower than 15.0% (6/40) in the conventional nursing group (P<0.05). At the 5th day after surgery, the Caprini scores were increased in the 3 groups (P<0.01), while that in the TEAS group was lower than the conventional nursing group (P<0.05); the KPS scores were decreased in the 3 groups (P<0.01), while those in the TEAS group and the rehabilitation training group were higher than the conventional nursing group (P<0.01, P<0.05); the total scores and the subitem scores of FACT-L were decreased in the 3 groups (P<0.05), while the total score of FACT-L and the subitem score of lung cancer specificity in the TEAS group were higher than those in the conventional nursing group (P<0.05). On the basis of the conventional nursing and early functional exercise, TEAS can reduce the incidence of venous thrombosis, effectively prevent thrombosis and improve quality of life.