Decreased incidence of SIRS and sepsis by acupuncture in severe multiple traumatic patients via facilitation of vagal activity

The effects of electroacupuncture and laser acupuncture therapy for patients with major trauma: A study protocol

BACKGROUND

Major trauma is the leading cause of death in the young population. The inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses are associated with posttraumatic morbidity and mortality; however, it is not fully clear how to reestablish the homeostasis in patients with major trauma.

METHODS

This study will be a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, partially double-blinded, three-armed trial. One hundred eighty participants diagnosed with major trauma will be randomly assigned to an electroacupuncture (EA), a laser acupuncture (LA), or a sham laser acupuncture group in a 1:1:1 ratio. All participants will undergo EA, LA, or sham laser acupuncture intervention once a day on 5 acupoints (LI4, PC6, ST36, SP6, and EX-HN1) for 14 consecutive days after enrollment. The primary outcome measure will be the length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes will be inflammatory mediators, including serum C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-1β, and IL-10. Clinical outcomes will be numeric rating scale scores for pain, sequential organ failure assessment, ICU length of stay, 30-day mortality, and WHO Disability Assessment Schedule. Data will be analyzed by chi-square test or t test for pairwise comparisons, as well as one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Tukey method between groups.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this protocol is to investigate the clinical effects of EA and LA on major trauma.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04970433. Registered on July 21, 2021.

Early prevention of trauma-related infection/sepsis

Trauma still represents one of the major causes of death worldwide. Despite the reduction of post-traumatic sepsis over the past two decades, the mortality of septic trauma inpatients is still high (19.5-23 %). Early prevention of sepsis development can aid in the subsequent treatment of patients and help improve their outcomes. To date, the prevention of trauma-related infection/sepsis has mainly included infection prevention (e.g., surgical management, prophylactic antibiotics, tetanus vaccination, immunomodulatory interventions) and organ dysfunction prevention (e.g., pharmaceuticals, temporary intravascular shunts, lung-protective strategies, enteral immunonutrition, acupuncture). Overall, more efficient ways should be developed to prevent trauma-related infection/sepsis.