Efficacy of TEAS on Postoperative Pain and Recovery in Patients Undergoing Hepatectomy

Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Postoperative Pain and Recovery in Patients Undergoing Hepatectomy：a Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to access the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation on postoperative pain in patients undergoing hepatectomy

Patients who meet the enrollment criteria will be randomized 1:1 to either the transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS#or the sham groups. In the TEAS group, the acupoints are bilateral neiguan (PC6) , Hegu(L14), Yanglingquan(GB34), Zusanli(ST 36) and Renying(ST9) acupoints. Patients will receive TEAS 30min before anesthesia until being discharged from the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU). The same treatment for 30 min will be performed on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days after surgery.The stimulation intensity will be adjusted in accordance with the maximal level tolerated by each patient.

Patients in the sham group will receive electrode attachment but without stimulation.

Inclusion Criteria:

Age 18-80 years old; ASA physical status classⅠ-Ⅲ; Patients scheduled for elective hepatectomy.

Exclusion Criteria:

Have a history of epilepsy; Rash or local infection over the acupoint stimulation skin area; Pregnancy or breastfeeding; Mental retardation, psychiatric, or neurological disease; Inability to comprehend the numeric rating scale (NRS); Implantation of a cardiac pacemaker, cardioverter, or defibrillator; Chronic opioid use; Metastases in other organs;