Transcutaneous electroacupuncture alleviates postoperative ileus after gastrectomy: A randomized clinical trial

Table 1 Baseline patient characteristic

	TEA (n = 33)	Control (n = 30)	P value
Age (yr)	63.0 ± 9.70	59.0 ± 8.30	0.103
Sex (M/F)	22/11	24/6	0.183
Chronic gastritis	8/25	9/21	0.409
Diabetes	1/32	0/30	0.524
Hypertension	10/23	9/21	0.599
BMI	22.32 ± 3.23	21.85 ± 3.21	0.561
ECOG score (1/2)	27/6	24/6	0.553
Preoperative activity level	1.18 ± 0.392	1.17 ± 0.46	0.888
Preoperative albumin (g/L)	40.70 ± 3.38	40.08 ± 5.09	0.564
Preoperative chemotherapy (Y/N)	2/31	2/28	0.657
Surgery (Open/laparoscopic)	10/23	7/23	0.369
Surgery (Billroth-I/II/Rou-en-Y)	10/11/12	11/13/6	> 0.05
Surgery time (min)	210.79 ± 53.40	213.36 ± 69.12	0.868
pT staging (T0/1/2/3/4)	1/7/14/8/3	0/8/7/10/5	-
pN staging (N0/1/2/3a/3b)	1/7/14/8/3	11/5/4/10/0	-
Nasal enteral nutrition (Y/N)	11/22	9/21	0.496
PCIA/PCEA	32/1	29/1	0.833

TEA: Transcutaneous electroacupuncture; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Main outcomes

	TEA (n = 33)	Control (n = 30)	P value
Time to first flatus (h)
Total	73.19 ± 15.61	82.82 ± 20.25	0.038b
Open	76.53 ± 14.29	87.23 ± 20.75	0.048b
Laparoscopic	65.52 ± 16.53	68.31 ± 9.08	0.692
Bowel sound on day 1 (/min)	0.96 ± 1.80	0.63 ± 1.63	0.461
Bowel sound on day 2 (/min)	2.30 ± 2.61	1.05 ± 1.26	0.017b
Bowel sound on day 3 (/min)	4.30 ± 3.11	2.85 ± 2.19	0.068
Bowel sound on day 1 (open) (/min)	0.70 ± 1.29	0.70 ± 1.83	1.000
Bowel sound on day 2 (open) (/min)	2.52 ± 2.56	0.80 ± 1.0	0.006b
Bowel sound on day 3 (open) (/min)	4.74 ± 3.10	2.77 ± 2.23	0.028b
Walk independently (h)	27.10 ± 15.24	36.73 ± 25.91	0.074
Walking duration per day (min)	10.36 ± 6.65	9.13 ± 6.16	0.452
Remove nasogastric tube (POD)	4.22 ± 1.01	4.97 ± 1.67	0.049b
Liquid diet (POD)	5.00 ± 1.34	5.83 ± 2.10	0.039b
Semiliquid diet (POD)	6.68 ± 1.78	7.60 ± 2.33	0.087
Hospital stay (POD)	8.06 ± 1.75	9.40 ± 3.09	0.041b
Modified liquid diet (POD)	4.73 ± 0.94 (30)	5.30 ± 1.23 (27)	0.057
Modified semiliquid diet (POD)	6.30 ± 1.12 (30)	7.11 ± 1.74 (27)	0.039b
Modified hospital stay (POD)	7.73 ± 1.14 (30)	8.59 ± 1.67 (27)	0.026b

^bP: Significant difference. TEA: Transcutaneous electroacupuncture; POD: Postoperative day.

Table 3 Secondary outcomes according to Edmonton Symptom Assessment System

	TEA (n = 33)	Control (n = 30)	P value
Pain on day 1	3.79 ± 1.35	3.38 ± 1.50	0.266
Pain on day 2	2.79 ± 1.10	2.55 ± 1.08	0.391
Pain on day 3	2.39 ± 1.20	2.14 ± 0.90	0.416
Tiredness on day 1	5.29 ± 2.13	5.42 ± 2.21	0.815
Tiredness on day 2	4.17 ± 2.01	4.53 ± 1.96	0.467
Tiredness on day 3	3.41 ± 2.58	4.33 ± 1.77	0.162
Nausea on day 1	0.88 ± 1.77	0.55 ± 0.90	0.352
Nausea on day 2	0.49 ± 1.50	0.38 ± 0.72	0.730
Nausea on day 3	0.43 ± 1.72	0.32 ± 0.61	0.764
SOB on day 1	0.73 ± 1.66	0.30 ± 0.97	0.213
SOB on day 2	0.52 ± 1.60	0.35 ± 1.33	0.657
SOB on day 3	0.55 ± 1.74	0.19 ± 0.96	0.391
Wellbeing on day 1	5.97 ± 1.54	5.68 ± 1.75	0.494
Wellbeing on day 2	6.88 ± 1.24	6.62 ± 1.57	0.469
Wellbeing on day 3	7.41 ± 1.69	6.83 ± 1.64	0.225

TEA: Transcutaneous electroacupuncture; SOB: Shortness of breath.

Table 4 Postoperative complications

	TEA (n = 33)	Control (n = 30)	P value
Prolonged postoperative ileus	0	3	0.102
Wound infection	1	1	0.730
Pneumonia	1	1	0.730
Chyle leakage	2	1	0.182
Ventricular premature beat	1	0	0.524
Liver impairment	1	0	0.524
Pancreatic leakage	0	1	0.476
Total	6	7	0.270

TEA: Transcutaneous electroacupuncture.