Acupressure Needle Therapy Combined with Lumbar Plexus Block in Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroplasty

To investigate the analgesic effects of acupressure needle therapy combined with lumbar plexus block for anesthesia in elderly patients undergoing unilateral hip arthroplasty.

A total of 147 older patients set to have elective hip surgery from February 2025 to September 2025 were randomly divided into three groups: the acupressure needle group (Group A), the lumbar plexus group (Group L), and the combined acupressure needle and lumbar plexus block group (Group AL), with 49 patients in each group. All patients underwent hip arthroplasty under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation. We compared the intraoperative consumption of remifentanil and propofol among the three groups. Additionally, the incidence of cognitive dysfunction (assessed by the 3D-CAM) on postoperative within 48 hours, numerical rating scale (NRS) scores for pain at rest and during movement (hip lift at 45°) at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours postoperatively, quality of recovery scores (QoR-40 and ADL scores), patient satisfaction, preoperative and postoperative levels of IL-1β/IL-6 and serum CRP, PACU NRS scores, total consumption of postoperative analgesic pumps, effective and total presses of the PCA button (at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours after surgery), rescue analgesic use in the ward, and opioid-related adverse reactions (nausea and vomiting) were evaluated.

Using acupressure needle therapy along with a lumbar plexus block during general anesthesia led to less need for remifentanil and propofol during surgery, reduced the amount of pain relief needed afterward, decreased side effects from opioids like nausea and vomiting, lowered pain scores after surgery, and made patients more satisfied.

This combined strategy provides an effective optimized multimodal analgesic option for elderly patients undergoing hip replacement and is particularly valuable in comprehensive management regimens aimed at reducing opioid exposure.