Electroacupuncture for Bladder Function Recovery in Patients Undergoing Spinal Anesthesia

Abstract

Purpose. To determine the efficacy of electroacupuncture on recovering postanesthetic bladder function. Materials and Methods. Sixty-one patients undergoing spinal anaesthesia were recruited and allocated into electroacupuncture or control group randomly. Patients in electroacupuncture group received electroacupuncture therapy whereas ones in control group were not given any intervention. Primary endpoint was incidence of bladder overdistension and postoperative urinary retention. Secondary endpoints included time to spontaneous micturition, voided volume, and adverse events. Results. All patients (31 in electroacupuncture group and 30 in control group) completed the evaluation. During postoperative follow-up, patients in electroacupuncture group presented a significant lower proportion of bladder overdistension than counterparts in control group (16.1% versus 53.3%, P < 0.01). However, no significant difference was found in incidence of postoperative urinary retention between the two groups (0% versus 6.7%, P > 0.05). Furthermore, a shorter time to spontaneous micturition was found in electroacupuncture group compared to control group (228 min versus 313 min, P < 0.001), whereas urine volume and adverse events had no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions. Electroacupuncture reduced the proportion of bladder overdistension and shortened the time to spontaneous micturition in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia. Electroacupuncture may be a therapeutic strategy for postanesthetic bladder dysfunction.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatment for Urinary Incontinence

“…By contrast, no marked diferences were detected in incidence of urinary retention, urinary volume and side efects between two groups [43]. Because the indings of this study suggest that acupuncture can decrease the incidence of bladder over-distension in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia, it might be reasonable to infer that acupuncture is efective for treatment of OUI.…”

Systematic review of interventions for the prevention and treatment of postoperative urinary retention

“…After removal of duplicate records, 6415 reports were identified of which 48 studies (5644 participants) were included in the review ( Fig . ).…”

“…Eleven , , , , were judged at high risk of bias; these studies evaluated pharmacological (7 studies) and non‐pharmacological (3) interventions for the prevention of PO‐UR, and a pharmacological intervention (1 study) for the treatment of PO‐UR. There were 27 studies , , , , , , , rated as having some concerns; these studies evaluated pharmacological (16 studies) and non‐pharmacological (5) interventions for the prevention of PO‐UR, and pharmacological (2) and non‐pharmacological (4) interventions for treating PO‐UR.…”

“…0·31 to 0·98; 1 trial). Trials investigating other non‐pharmacological interventions, including electroacupuncture, external bladder stimulator, postoperative anal packing after haemorrhoidectomy and straight catheterization in the recovery room, found no evidence for a reduction in PO‐UR.…”

Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Urinary Retention: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

“…The age of patients among studies ranged from 19 to 75, 23 studies we included, but only 3 studies [ 39 – 41 ] described the indicator of body mass index (BMI). 12 studies [ 39 , 42 – 52 ] had a course of treatment less than or equal to one week, 8 studies [ 40 , 41 , 53 – 58 ] owned a treatment course over one week, and 3 studies [ 59 – 61 ] did not show the treating time. 10 studies [ 39 – 41 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 55 – 57 ] were performed on hysterectomy, 8 [ 42 – 44 , 47 , 51 , 59 – 61 ] were performed on anorectal surgery, 2 [ 52 , 58 ] were performed on orthopedic surgery, 1 [ 53 ] was performed on prostate surgery, 1 [ 50 ] was performed on spinal anaesthesia, and 1 study [ 54 ] did not indicate the type of surgery.…”