[Application of acupuncture in multimodal analgesia after lumbar surgery: a randomized controlled trial]

To observe the short-term effect of acupuncture in multimodal analgesia after posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in patients with lumbar degenerative diseases.

A total of 60 patients with lumbar degenerative diseases undergoing PLIF under general anesthesia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the patients received routine postoperative treatment and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA). In the observation group, on the basis of the measures as the control group, the patients received acupuncture within 24 h after operation. The acupoints were bilateral Yaotongdian (EX-UE7), Hegu (LI4), Houxi (SI3), Yanglingquan (GB34), Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Taixi (KI3). Acupuncture was operated 30 min each time, once daily and for consecutive 7 days. The total PCIA consumption within 48 h after operation, and the number of patients taking etoricoxib tablets during the trial were recorded in the two groups. Before treatment, after 3 days of treatment and after 7 days treatment, the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS), lumbar function of Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale (JOA) and 15-item quality of recovery (QOR-15) scale were observed separately in the two groups. The postoperative hospital stay was recorded in the two groups.

Compared with the control group, the total PCIA consumption at 0-24 h and 24-48 h after operation and the number of patients taking etoricoxib tablets were reduced in the observation group (P<0.05). After 3 days of treatment, compared with before treatment, VAS scores decreased (P<0.05), JOA scores and QOR-15 scores increased (P<0.05) in each group. After 7 days of treatment, compared with before treatment and after 3 days of treatment, VAS scores were reduced (P<0.05), JOA and QOR-15 scores were elevated in each group (P<0.05). After 3 and 7 days of treatment, compared with the control group, VAS scores were lower (P<0.05), while JOA and QOR-15 scores were higher in the observation group (P<0.05). The difference in postoperative hospital stay was not significant statistically between the two groups (P>0.05).

Acupuncture can reduce the consumption of analgesic drugs, relieve pain and accelerate postoperative recovery after PLIF in a short time.