Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on postoperative pain management in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. A randomized study was conducted. Ninety-two thoracic surgical patients were randomly divided into an EA group and a sham group. Postoperative intravenous analgesia was applied with a half dose of the conventional drug concentration in both groups. In the EA group, EA treatment was administered for three consecutive days after the surgery with 6 sessions of 30 min each. Compared with the sham group, patients in the EA group had a lower visual analogue scale (VAS) score at 2, 24, 48, and 72 hours and consumed less analgesic after surgery. The incidence of opioid-related adverse effects of nausea was lower in the EA group. The time to first flatus and defecation was also shorter in the EA group. Furthermore, the plasma β-endorphin (β-EP) level was higher by radioimmunoassay and the plasma 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) level was lower in the EA group by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay during the first 72 hr after thoracic surgery. Therefore, EA is suitable as an adjunct treatment for postoperative pain management after thoracic surgery.
Highlights
Thoracotomy can cause significant postoperative pain especially at the first 48 hours after the surgery [1]
Various pain interventions including intravenous analgesia and epidural and peripheral nerve blocks have been used as part of multimodal pain management in caring for patients undergoing thoracotomy [4]
There was no significant difference between the EA group and the sham control group with regard to baseline demographic characteristics (p > 0.05, Table 1)
Summary
Thoracotomy can cause significant postoperative pain especially at the first 48 hours after the surgery [1]. Controlled postthoracotomy pain has led to the development of chronic thoracic syndrome and has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of these patients [3]. Various pain interventions including intravenous analgesia and epidural and peripheral nerve blocks have been used as part of multimodal pain management in caring for patients undergoing thoracotomy [4]. Despite these well-established pain controlling methods, postthoracotomy pain remains. Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years for various medical conditions including pain management
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