The effect of high and low frequency electroacupuncture in pain after lower abdominal surgery
Journal
Pain
Journal Volume
99
Journal Issue
3
Pages
509-514
Date Issued
2002
Author(s)
Abstract
In the present study, we examined the effects of preoperative electroacupuncture (EA) at classical bilateral acupuncture points (Zusanli, also known as ST-36) on postoperative pain and opioid-related side effects. One hundred healthy consenting women undergoing lower abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to four treatment regimens: Group I (n=25), control; Group II (n=25), sham-EA (needle insertion without electrical stimulation); Group III (n=25), low-EA (2Hz of electrical stimulation); and Group IV (n=25), high-EA (100Hz of electrical stimulation). EA groups received needle insertion with or without electrical stimulation 20min prior to anesthesia. All patients received patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) of morphine postoperation. Postoperative pain was evaluated by recording (1) the time of the first required analgesic, (2) the number of PCA demands, (3) the total amount of morphine required by PCA, and (4) patients' VAS pain score. We found that the time of first analgesic requested was 10, 18, 28, and 28min in the control, sham-, low-, and high-EA groups, respectively. During the first 24h, the total amount of morphine required was decreased by 21, 43 and 61% in the sham-, low- and high-EA groups, respectively. The incidence of nausea and dizziness during the first 24h after surgery was significantly reduced in both the low-EA and high-EA groups compared with the control and sham-EA groups. We also found that sham-EA exerts a beneficial effect with respect to its pain relieving quality but not the side effect profiles. Our findings demonstrates that preoperative treatment with low-EA and high-EA can reduce postoperative analgesic requirements and associated side effects in patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery. ? 2002 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Subjects
Electroacupuncture; Patient-controlled analgesia; Postoperative pain; Visual analogue scale
SDGs
Other Subjects
morphine; opiate; abdominal surgery; adult; anesthesia; article; clinical trial; controlled clinical trial; controlled study; electroacupuncture; electrostimulation therapy; female; human; major clinical study; pain assessment; patient controlled analgesia; postoperative care; postoperative complication; postoperative nausea; postoperative pain; postoperative vomiting; preoperative care; priority journal; quality control; randomized controlled trial; scoring system; side effect; surgical technique; treatment outcome; Acupuncture Analgesia; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Chi-Square Distribution; Electroacupuncture; Female; Humans; Hysterectomy; Middle Aged; Morphine; Pain, Postoperative
Type
journal article