• Yanqing Chen, Yang Yang, Yusheng Yao, Dongsheng Dai, Bin Qian, and Pingping Liu.
• Department of Anesthesiology, The Shengli Clinical Medicial College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital Fuzhou 350001, China.
• Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015 Jan 1;8(8):13622-7.

BackgroundWe evaluated the effects of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on the postoperative quality of recovery after thyroidectomy with general anesthesia in this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.MethodsEight-four American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA) I or II patients undergoing thyroidectomy were randomly allocated to TEAS or control groups. The primary outcome was the quality of recovery, which was assessed on the day before surgery and 24 h after surgery using the Quality of Recovery 40 questionnaire (QoR-40). Secondary outcomes included the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), postoperative pain intensity, duration of post anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay and patient's satisfaction.ResultsGlobal QoR-40 score at 24 h after surgery was higher in the TEAS group (median [interquartile range], 183 [172-190]) compared with the control group (168 [154-183]) (P < 0.001). Compared with the control group, postoperative pain intensity and the cumulative number of opioids administered was lower in the TEAS group patients (P < 0.001). TEAS reduced the incidence of PONV and dizziness (P = 0.001), as well as the duration of PACU stay (P < 0.001). Simultaneously, the patient's satisfaction scores were higher in the TEAS group (P = 0.002).ConclusionPreoperative TEAS enhances the quality of recovery, postoperative analgesia and patient's satisfaction, alleviates postoperative side effects and accelerates discharge after general anesthesia for thyroidectomy.

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