Effects of transcutaneous electrical acupuncture point stimulation on peripheral capillary oxygen saturation in elderly patients undergoing colonoscopy with sedation: a prospective randomized controlled trial

Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on the Incidence of Hypoxia in Elderly Patients Undergoing Painless Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Hypoxia is not uncommon in elderly patients during painless gastrointestinal endoscopy. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) in reducing the occurrence of hypoxia symptoms in elderly patients. Methods: Patients were randomly and equally grouped into sham control (n = 109) or TEAS group (n = 109) by using the random number table method. Patients in the TEAS group received electrical stimulation at the bilateral ST36 points 30 min before the examination until the end of the painless gastrointestinal endoscopy. Patients in the control group only had electrodes attached to bilateral nonacupoints in a similar pattern as the TEAS group without electrical stimulation. The primary endpoints measured were the incidence of hypoxia and severe hypoxia. The secondary endpoints included propofol dosage, sedation-related adverse events, hemodynamic parameters, surgical duration, patient recovery time, pain score, patient satisfaction, anesthesiologist satisfaction, and endoscopist satisfaction. Results: Of the 251 patients who participated in this study, 218 patients ended up completing the final study. The primary outcome was that, compared with group control, the incidence of hypoxia in group TEAS was reduced by 11% (19.3% vs. 8.3%, p=0.018) and the incidence of severe hypoxia did not show a significant change (7.3% vs. 2.8%, p=0.122). And there was a significant decrease in the occurrence of patients requiring emergency airway assistance (increased oxygen flow: 16.5% vs. 6.4%, p=0.019, jaw thrust: 11.0% vs. 3.7%, p=0.038, mask-assisted ventilation: 5.5% vs. 1.8%, p=0.015). Conclusion: TEAS can reduce the incidence of hypoxia in elderly patients undergoing painless gastrointestinal endoscopy. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: ChiCTR2200059465.

Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Combined with Moderate Sedation of Remimazolam Tosilate in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

INTRODUCTION

Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.

METHODS

A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.

RESULTS

Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.

CONCLUSIONS

TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov).

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for the prevention of postoperative delirium in elderly surgical patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the preventive effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation on postoperative delirium in elderly surgical patients.

Methods

PubMed, CENTRAL, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang databases were searched for randomized controlled trials regarding the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation on preventing postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing any type of surgery. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative delirium. The secondary outcome was the duration of postoperative delirium. All analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 13.0 software.

Results

Twelve trials with 991 participants were included, and most of them were at high/unclear risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation could reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium (RR = 0.40, 95%CI = 0.29 to 0.55, p < 0.00001) and shorten the duration of postoperative delirium (MD = -0.97 days, 95%CI = -1.72 to -0.22, p = 0.01). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation reduced the incidence of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing orthopedic surgery and thoracic surgery, but not digestive surgery; transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation with dilatational wave and with continuous wave were both beneficial; and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation was favored when compared to blank and sham control.

Conclusion

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation could reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium and shorten the duration of postoperative delirium in elderly surgical patients. The findings should be interpreted with caution due to weak evidence. High-quality, large sample, and multi-center trials are needed to further confirm the preliminary findings.Systematic review registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-7-0096/, identifier: INPLASY202270096.

Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for the prevention of perioperative neurocognitive disorders in geriatric patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

To evaluate whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) decreases rates of perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) when used as an adjuvant method during perioperative period in geriatric patients since the new definition was released in 2018.

METHODS

Six databases [Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, WanFang Database, PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library] were systematically searched. Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 software (Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration, 2020). Risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence interval were calculated using a random effects model. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

RESULTS

13 randomized clinical trials (999 patients) in total were included. TEAS had positive effects on preventing the incidence of PND (RR: 0.43; 0.31, 0.61; P < .001; low certainty) [postoperative delirium within 7 days (RR: 0.39; 0.26, 0.59; P < .001), delayed neurocognitive recovery within 3 months (RR: 0.51; 0.33, 0.78; P = .002)]. TEAS could also improve the scores of the confusion assessment method (CAM) (Mean difference: -1.30; -2.14, -0.46; P = .003; low certainty). Limited evidence suggested that TEAS could reduce the serum levels of biochemical indicator (S100β) (SMD = -1.08, -1.67, -0.49, P < .001; I2  = 83%; very low certainty) as well as anesthetic requirements (remifentanil) (SMD: -1.58; -2.54, -0.63; P = .001; I2  = 87%; very low certainty). Subgroup analysis indicated that different protocols of TEAS had significant pooled benefits (TEAS used only in surgery and in combination with postoperative intervention) (RR: 0.45; 0.31, 0.63; P < .001). Acupoint combination (LI4 and PC6) in the TEAS group had more significantly advantages (RR: 0.34; 0.17, 0.67; P = .002). TEAS group had a lower incidence of PND in different surgery type (orthopedic surgery and abdominal surgery) (RR: 0.43; 0.30, 0.60; P < .001), as well as with different anesthetic modality (intravenous anesthesia and intravenous and inhalational combined anesthesia) (RR: 0.38; 0.23, 0.61; P < .001).

CONCLUSION

In terms of clinical effectiveness, TEAS appeared to be beneficial for prophylaxis of PND during a relatively recent period, noting the limitations of the current evidence.

Effects of Acupuncture on Adverse Events in Colonoscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

INTRODUCTION

Acupuncture has gradually penetrated into many disciplines in clinical medicine, such as surgery, anesthesia, and outpatient examinations. Although a number of clinical trials have investigated the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy, the results were inconsistent. In this meta-analysis, we analyzed the effects of acupuncture on colonoscopy to provide evidence for subsequent research and clinical application of acupuncture in colonoscopy.

METHODS

This meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager version 5.4 and Stata version 16 software. The primary outcome was the incidence of adverse events, and the secondary outcomes included patients' anxiety score before colonoscopy, time to insert the colonoscope, total detection time, propofol consumption, patients' pain score, and patient satisfaction rate.

RESULTS

The results showed that the incidence of adverse events (odds ratio [OR] 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.43, P = 0.00, I² = 25%), patients' pain score (mean difference [MD] - 1.03, 95% CI - 1.45 to - 0.62, P = 0.00, I² = 94%), and time to insert the colonoscope (MD = - 2.54, 95% CI - 4.96 to - 0.13, P = 0.04, I² = 0%) were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group. Compared with the control group, the satisfaction rate of patients (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.56-4.10, P = 0.00, I² = 47%) in the treatment group was significantly improved. There was no significant between-group difference in patients' anxiety score, the total detection time, and propofol dosage.

CONCLUSIONS

During colonoscopy, acupuncture can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse events, relieve patients' pain, and improve patient satisfaction.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number CRD42022324428.

Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Electric Acupuncture on Neural Functional Recovery and Related Pathways of Rats after Spinal Cord Injury

Background

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a type of damage to the central nervous system (CNS) caused by various factors. The secondary injury of SCI is more complicated. Studies have found that electroacupuncture can help the recovery of nerve function during spinal cord injury. Therefore, this study explored the efficacy of electroacupuncture on complications after spinal cord injury through meta-analysis.

Methods

Relevant literatures published from January 2010 to March 2022 were searched with "Electric acupuncture, Spinal cord injury, Neural functional recovery, Spinal cord injury in rats, Neuronal Signaling" as search words. The risk of bias of included references was analyzed and assessed using RevMan 5.3 software and Stata software. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using the Q-test and heterogeneity (I 2).

Results

There was no heterogeneity among the study groups. The comparison on the therapeutic effects of electroacupuncture and conventional therapy suggested that electroacupuncture was more effective for nerve recovery after spinal cord injury than conventional therapy. It can better improve the recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury in rats. On the other hand, SCI+EA had a good inhibitory effect on the expression of RhoA protein signal in rats and had a positive effect on the signal pathway. Discussion. The results of meta-analysis confirmed that electroacupuncture was more effective than conventional therapy in inhibiting pathways.