Alternating low and high frequency electrical acupoint stimulation improved oxygenation, reduced opioid use, pain, and early recovery time after minimally invasive lung surgery.
Patients undergoing minimally invasive lung-lobe removal were randomly assigned to receive no electrical stimulation, alternating low and high frequency stimulation, low frequency stimulation, or high frequency stimulation. Stimulation was applied at four acupuncture points on the affected side before, during, and after surgery, while the control group received electrode placement without stimulation. Researchers assessed anesthetic requirements, blood oxygenation, lung function, recovery after anesthesia, postoperative complications, pain, and quality of life.
Alternating low and high frequency stimulation produced the lowest opioid requirement during surgery, slowed the decline in blood oxygen during one-lung ventilation, reduced pain, and shortened breathing-tube removal and post-anesthesia recovery time. High frequency stimulation reduced postoperative nausea and vomiting. Lung function and physical quality of life declined after surgery across all groups, indicating that the early recovery benefits did not prevent postoperative reductions in these broader measures.
