The effects of two different electrical stimulation methods on the pain intensity of the patients who had undergone abdominal surgery with a midline incision: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Aims-Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TAES) on pain and analgesic drug consumption in patients who had undergone abdominal surgery with a midline incision Backround: Evidence for the effects of and TAES on pain and analgesic consumption on patients undergoing abdominal surgery with severe pain experience and high levels of neuroendocrine stress response is uncertain. Design: This research was conducted as arandomized controlled trial. Methods: 158 patients who had undergone abdominal surgery with diagnosis of gastric and colorectal cancer were assessed for eligibility. This research sample consisted of 48 patients who underwent abdominal surgery with a midline incision. The patients were randomized into three groups, the first intervention group, which used TENS, the second intervention group, which used TAES (ST25, P6, ST36, Lİ4) and the control group, which did not. Electric stimulation was performed at the 30th minute, second, 18th, 21st, 40th, and 45th hours after the operation. Pain scores and analgesic consumption were assessed in the first 48 hours after surgical intervention. Results: Pain scores and analgesic consumption of both intervention groups were significantly lower than control group. When the intervention groups were compared with each other, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of pain scores and analgesic consumption. Conclusion: The research's findings reveal that the two electrical stimulation methods have similar effects on pain scores and analgesic consumption in patients undergoing abdominal surgery with a midline incision and that they can be used in nursing care for pain control after surgery.

KEYWORDS: Acupuncture; Complementary Therapies Postoperative; Nursing; Pain; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation

PMID: 31169066 DOI: 10.1080/10376178.2019.1628650