title: Acupoint electrical stimulation reduces acute postoperative pain in surgical patients with patient-controlled analgesia: a randomized controlled study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupoint electrical stimulation with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) on reducing acute pain, nausea, and vomiting after surgery for nontraumatic spinal cord injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized, controlled, repeated measures research design was used. Ninety-nine patients undergoing lumbar spinal surgery were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Patients in experimental group 1 (EG1) received true acupoint electrical simulation three times, whereas those in experimental group 2 (EG2) received sham acupoint manually. Patients in the control group (CG) received no acupoint intervention. All patients were measured for pain, initial demand for PCA, demand for opiates, opiate dose, vital signs, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences were found in postoperative pain, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and opiate doses across time in the three groups with better outcomes observed in EG1 than in EG2. However, no between-group difference was found in initial demand for PCA or in PONV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study demonstrates that acupoint electrical stimulation improves acute postoperative pain management without adversely affecting vital signs after surgery for nontraumatic spinal injury. More studies are needed to evaluate the effects ofacupoint electrical stimulation on PONV and postoperative pain following other surgical procedures.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, National Taipei College of Nursing, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Yu-Chu
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Kang-Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Mei-Yung
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Tsou
authors.forename: Hsing-Hsia
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015671:Electroacupuncture / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D013624:Taiwan; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid