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The Effect of TENS on Patient Outcomes After Total Knee Arthroplasty
Abdurrahman Acar1, Sevilay Erden2
1Faculty of Nursing, Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Niğde, Türkey.
Aim:
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on patient outcomes during the first 24 hours following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
Methods:
This randomized controlled trial recruited patients from the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department of a Training and Research Hospital between November 2024 and July 2025, according to the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form and the Turkish Version of Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R-TR). For statistical analyses, the descriptive statistics, Student's t, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests were used.
Results:
A total of 44 patients participated in the study (TENS group n = 22, control group n = 22). The mean age was 69.68 ± 6.49 in the TENS group and 65.36 ± 8.67 in the control group; females comprised 81.28% of the TENS group and 90.9% of the control group. Pain intensity, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, fear, hopelessness levels were significantly lower in the TENS group, while sleep quality and satisfaction with pain treatment were significantly higher, compared to the control group (p < .05). Praying and cold compress were preferred as nonpharmacological analgesia methods in both groups.
Conclusions:
These findings indicate that TENS is an effective method for postoperative pain management in patients undergoing TKA, reducing complications and improving patient satisfaction.
Clinical Implications:
TENS may enhance postoperative pain management in patients with TKA. Nurses may develop protocols to guide clinical practice and support nursing education on the safe and effective use of TENS in postoperative care.
