Effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation at Zusanli and Neiguan on postoperative recovery in patients with colorectal cancer

Table 1 Comparison of patient demographics and surgical parameters between groups

	Group G (n = 58)	Group TG (n = 66)	t/χ2	P value
Age (years)	60.36 ± 10.58	58.69 ± 9.21	1.012	0.314
Gender (male/female)	32/26	38/28	0.073	0.788
BMI (kg/m2)	24.17 ± 2.45	24.31 ± 2.62	0.792	0.430
Tumor diameter (cm)	3.36 ± 2.37	3.39 ± 2.52	1.146	0.254
TNM stage (I/II/III/IV)	6/33/8/11	12/40/9/6	3.571	0.312
Surgical type (1/2/3/4)1	14/6/21/17	14/10/22/20	0.754	0.861
Operative time (minutes)	166.54 ± 35.02	162.87 ± 33.75	0.340	0.734
Extubation time (minutes)	20.47 ± 5.20	21.06 ± 5.46	0.299	0.766
Blood loss (mL)	75.62 ± 40.31	71.44 ± 37.89	1.544	0.125
Infusion volume (mL)	1432.15 ± 1088.11	1450.28 ± 116.32	1.823	0.071
Urine output (mL)	365.14 ± 55.81	359.31 ± 45.32	1.324	0.188

¹Surgical types - 1: Radical resection for rectal cancer; 2: Radical resection for left colon cancer; 3: Radical resection for right colon cancer; 4: Radical resection for sigmoid colon cancer.

Group G: The general anesthesia group; Group TG: The transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation plus general anesthesia group; BMI: Body mass index; TNM: Tumor, node, metastasis.

Table 2 Comparison of gastrointestinal recovery times between groups

	Group G (n = 58)	Group TG (n = 66)	t/χ2	P value
Time to first flatus (hours)	28.17 ± 6.02	23.66 ± 5.29	3.421	0.001
Time to first bowel movement (hours)	66.20 ± 14.13	57.59 ± 12.42	3.567	0.001
Time to return of bowel sounds (hours)	20.65 ± 8.47	16.59 ± 7.35	4.291	< 0.001
Time to resume liquid diet (hours)	80.45 ± 20.58	82.31 ± 26.10	1.036	0.302
Time to first ambulation (days)	46.17 ± 15.29	44.89 ± 12.26	0.044	0.965
Length of postoperative stay (days)	9.04 ± 4.28	7.86 ± 2.52	1.627	0.106

Group G: The general anesthesia group; Group TG: The transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation plus general anesthesia group.

Table 3 Comparison of visual analog scale scores between groups

Group	Pre 1 day	Post 1 day	Post 3 days
Group G (n = 58)	3.41 ± 0.36	3.76 ± 0.20a	3.24 ± 0.21b
Group TG (n = 66)	3.35 ± 0.20	3.40 ± 0.28	2.53 ± 0.19
t	0.283	8.767	20.768
P value	0.778	< 0.001	< 0.001

^aP < 0.01 indicates a comparison with the score from one day prior to surgery.

^bP < 0.01 indicates a comparison with the score from postoperative day 1.

Group G: The general anesthesia group; Group TG: The transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation plus general anesthesia group.

Table 4 Comparison of Karnofsky performance status scores before and after treatment

Karnofsky score	Group G (n = 58)	Group TG (n = 66)	t	P value
Before	71.26 ± 8.40	72.45 ± 7.18	0.788	0.432
After	76.44 ± 7.21	82.27 ± 8.62	3.960	< 0.001
t	2.755	6.364
P value	0.008	< 0.001

Group G: The general anesthesia group; Group TG: The transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation plus general anesthesia group.

Table 5 Comparison of postoperative complications between groups

Complications	Group G (n = 58)	Group TG (n = 66)	t	P value
PONV	26	14	7.879	0.005
Abdominal distension and pain	8	6	0.682	0.409
Fever	2	0	2.313	0.128
Anastomotic leak	3	2	0.366	0.545
Surgical site infection	1	1	0.008	0.927
Pulmonary infection	1	0	2.754	0.097
Intestinal obstruction	3	1	1.323	0.250
Total	36	22	10.239	0.001

PONV: Postoperative nausea and vomiting; Group G: The general anesthesia group; Group TG: The transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation plus general anesthesia group.