BACKGROUND Perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) is a critical concern for older patients undergoing cardiac surgery, impacting cognitive function and quality of life. Electroacupuncture and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) hold promise for mitigating PND. This protocol outlines a systematic review and meta-analysis to thoroughly assess the efficacy of electroacupuncture and TEAS in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery with PND, providing up-to-date evidence for PND prevention and treatment. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to thoroughly assess the efficacy of electroacupuncture and TEAS in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery with PND, providing up-to-date evidence for PND prevention and treatment. METHODS A comprehensive and systematic approach will be used to identify eligible studies from a diverse range of electronic databases, including 9 major sources such as PubMed (NLM) and Cochrane (Wiley), as well as 2 clinical trial registration websites. These studies will focus on investigating the effects of electroacupuncture and TEAS on PND in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The study selection will adhere to the criteria outlined in the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome, and studies (PICOS) format. Data extraction will be carried out by 2 independent researchers (YP and LS), using established tools to evaluate the risk of bias. The primary outcome will be PND incidence, with secondary outcomes including Mini Mental State Examination scores, neuron-specific enolase, S100β, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, time to first flatus, first defecation, bowel sound recovery, and hospitalization duration to be selectively reported. Adverse events linked to acupuncture, such as bleeding, needle site pain, and local reactions, rather than serious adverse events, will also be considered. Meta-analysis will be performed using appropriate statistical methods to assess the overall effect of electroacupuncture and TEAS on PND prevention, treatment, or other relevant outcomes. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool will be used for assessment, and data synthesis will be executed using the RevMan 5.4 software (Cochrane). RESULTS We plan to summarize the eligible studies through the use of a PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flowchart. The findings will be showcased in the form of a summary table of evidence. Figures and forest plots will be used to illustrate the outcomes of the meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS The impacts of electroacupuncture and TEAS interventions on PND in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery have not yet been established. This protocol addresses a critical gap by thoroughly assessing electroacupuncture and TEAS for PND in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery, enhancing understanding of nonpharmacological interventions, and guiding future research and clinical practices in this field. Its strength lies in rigorous methodology, including comprehensive search strategies, independent review processes, and thorough assessments of the risk of bias. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD42023411927; https://tinyurl.com/39xdz6jb INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/55996
ABSTRACT Introduction: Condyloma acuminate (CA) is a chronic disease with a high rate of recurrence which has a detrimental impact on patients' physical and mental health, as well as their quality of life and socioeconomic advancement. Photodynamic therapy is a less invasive and selective intervention for CA, but its safety and high price limit its utilization. Wei Ren Anti-Wart Formula (WRAWF), is a promising Chinese medicine for CA, however, the evidence of its effectiveness and safety is scarcely. This trial aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, safety, and recurrence management of WRAWF combined with photodynamic in the CA patients. Methods and analysis: A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group trial was designed. Participants will recruit in the Yue Yang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from May 1, 2024, to December 31, 2025. The sample size is 148 CA patients (74 in each group), will randomly divide into the trial and control groups. followed up at weeks 6, 10, and 14 after the 2-week treatment period. The recurrence rate will be set as the primary outcome. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of pain, the rate of infection, superficial scarring, and the type, severity, and incidence of adverse events will be carefully documented at 0,1,2,6,10,14 weeks. Ethics and dissemination: This trial has approved by the Ethics Committee of Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 2023-023). Meanwhile, informed consent was provided by all patients conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Trial registration number: ChiCTR2300071609; www.chictr.org.cn;Registered on April19, 2023(first version). Key words: Randomized trial, Condyloma acuminate, photodynamic therapy, Wei Ren Anti-Wart Formula
The incidence of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (POGD) is notably high among patients following colorectal cancer surgery, highlighting the urgency for the prompt development of efficacious preventive and therapeutic approaches. Electroacupuncture (EA) represents an intervention modality that holds promise for the management of POGD. However, the existing empirical evidence substantiating its efficacy remains scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of EA as a treatment for POGD in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.
Introduction Preoperative anxiety occurs at a very high rate in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Moreover, it will result in poor mental state, more analgesic consumptions, rehabilitation delay and extra hospitalisation costs. Transcutaneous electrical acupoints stimulation (TEAS) is a convenient intervention for pain control and anxiety reduction. Nevertheless, TEAS efficacy of preoperative anxiety in VATS is unknown. Methods and analysis This single-centre randomised sham-controlled trial will be conducted in cardiothoracic surgery department of the Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in China. A total of 92 eligible participants with pulmonary nodules (size ≥8 mm) who are arranged for VATS will be randomly assigned to a TEAS group and a sham TEAS (STEAS) group in a 1:1 ratio. Daily TEAS/STEAS intervention will be administered starting on 3 days before the VATS and continued once per day for three consecutive days. The primary outcome will be the generalised anxiety disorder scale score change between the day before surgery with the baseline. The secondary outcomes will include serum concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine, norepinephrine and gamma-aminobutyric acid, intraoperative anaesthetic consumption, time to postoperative chest tube removal, postoperative pain, and length of postoperative hospital stay. The adverse events will be recorded for safety evaluation. All data in this trial will be analysed by the SPSS V.21.0 statistical software package. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval number: 2021-023). The results of this study will be distributed through peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number NCT04895852 .
Objective: Acupuncture has made recommendations to relieve low back pain (LBP) in a few guidelines. However, few articles focused on the papers published before, which may reflect the trend of study, main researchers, reciprocal collaboration, and other information in this field. In this study, we utilize the bibliometric analysis methods to objectively analyze the current trend and research hotspots about this field, aiming to provide a foundation and reference for future study. Methods: The Web of Science database was searched for publications related to acupuncture therapy for treating low back pain between 1985 and 2021. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the annual publication, authors and co-cited authors and their countries (regions) and institutions, journals and co-cited journals, co-cited references, co-occurrence keywords, burst keywords, and the relevant centrality. Results: A total of 1279 papers were retrieved from the database, and the trend of annual publications maintained growth. Article was the most document type (867). The USA (451) and the Kyung Hee University (49) were the most productive country (region) and institution, respectively, while the USA (0.37) and University of Maryland (0.13) had the highest centrality. MacPherson, Hugh and Sherman, Karen J. published the most papers in this field (32), and Ernst, Edzard became the most influential author (474 co-citations). Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine was the most productive journal (79), whereas SPINE was the most influential one (3111 co-citations). Haake's (2007) article had the most co-citation count (186), while Furlan's (2005) article had the highest centrality (0.23). The three frontier topics were pain management, disease, and protocol. Conclusion: The present study investigated publications on acupuncture for treating low back pain using bibliometric analysis methods, which may help researchers explore the potential directions for the future. Keywords: low back pain, acupuncture, bibliometric analysis, VOSviewer, CiteSpace
Background Postoperative ileus (POI) is an important complication of gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. Acupuncture has been increasingly used in treating POI. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for POI following GI surgery. Methods Seven databases (PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Data, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database) and related resources were searched from inception to May 30, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the acupuncture for POI in GI were included. The quality of RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool, and the certainty of the evidence was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. A meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.4 software. Results Eighteen RCTs involving 1413 participants were included. The meta-analysis showed that acupuncture could reduce the time to first flatus (TFF) (standardized mean difference [SMD] = −1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.54 to −0.73, P < 0.00001), time to first defecation (TFD) (SMD = −1.31, 95% CI: −1.88 to −0.74, P < 0.00001), time to bowel sounds recovery (TBSR) (SMD = −1.57, 95% CI: −2.14 to −1.01, P < 0.00001), and length of hospital stay (LOS) (mean difference [MD] = −1.68, 95% CI: −2.55 to −0.80, P = 0.0002) compared with usual care. A subgroup analysis found that acupuncture at distal acupoints once daily after surgery had superior effects on reducing TFF and TFD. A sensitivity analysis supported the validity of the finding. Acupuncture also manifested an effect of reducing TFF, TFD and TBSR compared with sham acupuncture but the result was not stable. Relatively few trials have reported whether adverse events have occurred. Conclusions Acupuncture showed a certain effect in reducing POI following GI surgery with very low-to-moderate quality of evidence. The overall safety of acupuncture should be further validated. More high-quality, large-scale, and multicenter original trials are needed in the future.
Perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) is a critical concern for older patients undergoing cardiac surgery, impacting cognitive function and quality of life. Electroacupuncture and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) hold promise for mitigating PND. This protocol outlines a systematic review and meta-analysis to thoroughly assess the efficacy of electroacupuncture and TEAS in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery with PND, providing up-to-date evidence for PND prevention and treatment.