Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on Postoperative Cognitive Decline in Elderly Patients: A Pilot Study

Figures & data

Figure 1 The location of the acupoints for transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation.

Figure 2 Experimental flow of this study.

Table 1 Clinical Characteristics of Patients

Characteristics	Entire (n=100)	Group T (n=50)	Group C (n=50)	P
Age [years, mean (SD)]	70.24 (5.14)	70.80 (5.41)	69.68 (4.85)	0.209
Gender [Female (%)]	49 (49)	22 (44)	27 (54)	0.317
Weight [kg, mean (SD)]	66.72 (9.17)	66.72 (8.51)	66.72 (9.87)	0.204
BMI [kg/m^2, mean (SD)]	24.78 (3.04)	24.75 (2.57)	24.82 (3.47)	0.114
ASA (I, %)	52 (52)	25 (50)	27 (54)	0.689
Education ≥ 9 years [n (%)]	20 (20)	11 (22)	9 (18)	0.617
Hypertension [n (%)]	58 (58)	30 (60)	28 (56)	0.685
Diabetes mellitus [n (%)]	25 (25)	11 (22)	14 (28)	0.488
Coronary heart disease [n (%)]	17 (17)	9 (18)	8 (16)	0.790
Hypoproteinemia [n (%)]	13 (13)	7 (14)	6 (12)	0.766
Smoker [n (%)]	49 (49)	24 (48)	25 (50)	0.841
Heavy drinking [n (%)]	19 (19)	11 (22)	8 (16)	0.444

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists; C, control; T, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation.

Table 2 Intraoperative and Postoperative Variables

Variables	Entire (n=100)	Group T (n=50)	Group C (n=50)	P
Infusion volume [mL, mean (SD)]	2121±521	2189±498	2053±539	0.193
Blood loss [mL, mean (SD)]	309±85	305±85	312±85	0.683
Urine volume [mL, mean (SD)]	442±112	454±118	430±105	0.291
Surgical duration [minutes, mean (SD)]	215.2±55.62	225.6±53.28	204.8±57.05	0.063
Anesthesia time [minutes, mean (SD)]	265.4±56.29	272.2±56.88	258.6±55.44	0.229
VAS rest [point, mean (SD)]	2.59±0.57	2.52±0.505	2.66±0.626	0.221
VAS coughing [point, mean (SD)]	3.18±0.63	3.20±0.571	3.16±0.681	0.751
Number of compressions [times, mean (SD)]	17.5±3.28	17.62±2.687	17.38±3.801	0.716
Length of stays [days, mean (SD)]	16.28±2.18	16.10±2.30	16.46±2.06	0.412

Abbreviations: C, control; T, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.

Figure 3 The level of IL-6 (A), hs-CRP (B), and CGRP (C) at different time points. Compared to T0, *P < 0.05 in the same group. Compared to the corresponding Group C, ^#P < 0.05. T0: 0 min before transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, T1: 1 h after the beginning of surgery; T2: the end of surgery.

Abbreviations: IL-6, interleukin-6; hs-CRP, high sensitive C-reactive protein; CGRP, calcitonin-gene-related peptide.

Figure 4 Cumulative duration of postoperative cognitive decline. Compared to the corresponding Group C, *P < 0.05.