Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation for Preventing Postoperative Delirium: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) for postoperative delirium (POD) in surgical patients. Methods Based on database searches of the Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM), PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, relevant RCTs published before December 30, 2022, were extracted. Outcome indicators included the incidence of POD, changes in Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) scores, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores, and the intraoperative consumption of anesthetics. Data were pooled and analyzed by Review Manager 5.3, and publication bias detection was conducted using Stata 17.0. Results A meta-analysis containing 715 experimental and 717 control participants from 12 RCTs was performed. The overall results showed that TEAS had obvious superiority with a lower incidence of POD on any day during the postoperative 1 week. In subgroup analyses, the CAM scores on the third postoperative day were significantly lower in the TEAS group than in the control group (MD = −0.52, 95% CI: −1.02 to −0.03, P = 0.04), the VAS scores on the first postoperative day were significantly lower in the TEAS group than in the control group (MD = −0.19, 95% CI: −0.36 to −0.02, P = 0.03), the consumption of propofol and remifentanil were both significantly lower in the TEAS group compared with the control group (MD = −23.1, 95% CI: −37.27 to −8.94, P = 0.001; MD = −105.69, 95% CI: −174.20 to −37.19, P = 0.002). No serious adverse events of TEAS were reported in any of the referenced studies. Conclusion TEAS has an obvious curative effect in preventing POD and pain in the earlier stage of surgical patients. It could be a promising assisted anesthesia technique in the future.

Effects of Patient-Controlled Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Cancer Induced Bone Pain Relief in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…11 Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS), which merges acupoint stimulation with TENS therapy, boasts noninvasiveness, quantifiable electrical stimulation, and treatment flexibility in contrast to traditional acupuncture methods. Although the analgesic effect of TEAS has been widely confirmed, [12][13][14][15] currently studies involved TEAS treatment on chronic cancer pain management strategies are lacking. There have been researches with small samples proved the effectiveness of TEAS on nonspecific cancer pain, 16,17 and a research involving 159 patients with cancer-related pain treated with chronic opioids was carried out by our group.…”