[Comparative study between electroacupuncture at Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) and epidural nerve block for...

To compare the clinical effect between electroacupuncture (EA) at Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) and epidural nerve block for preemptive analgesia in patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

Sixty patients with elective radical esophagectomy were randomly divided into a group A, a group B and a control group, 20 cases in each group. The patients in the group A were treated with injection of 20 mL 0.375% ropivacaine at epidural space 30 min before anesthesia induction, followed by normal anesthesia during operation; the patients in the group B were treated with 30 min EA at bilateral Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) before anesthesia induction, followed by normal anesthesia during operation; the patients in the control group were treated with general anesthesia alone. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia was applied for all the patients. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded at the following time points: before acupuncture/epidural puncture (T₀), skin incision (T₁), extubation (T₂) and 2 h after operation (T₃); the dosage of anesthetics and extubation time were recorded; the plasma levels of β-endorphin (β-EP), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) were measured at the following time points: T₀, T₃, 12 h after operation (T₄), 24 h after operation (T₅) and 48 h after operation (T₆). Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the analgesic effect.

The MAP at T₁ and T₂ in the group A was lower than that in group B and control group (P<0.05), and HR at T₁ and T₂ was lower than that in control group (P<0.05). The MAP and HR at T₁ and T₂ in the group B were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The dosage of remifentanil in the group A and group B was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and extubation time was earlier than that in the control group (P<0.05). The content of β-EP at T₄, T₅ and T₆ in the group B was higher than that in the group A and control group (P<0.05); the contents of 5-HT and PGE₂ at T₃, T₄ and T₅ in the group A and group B were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The VAS scores at T₃, T₄ and T₅ in the group A and group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05).

The preemptive analgesia of EA at Neima point and Neiguan (PC 6) and epidural nerve block could both provide effective perioperative analgesia for thoracic surgery. The EA could better maintain intraoperative hemodynamics and has less physiological disturbance.