Auricular therapy improves gastrointestinal function in patients with gynecological laparoscopic surgery: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

Auricular Acupressure in Relieving PONV and Promoting Gastrointestinal Function Recovery in Females After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

The role of current pharmacological treatment after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is limited. The incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after LSG remains high. Auricular acupressure (AA) is believed to relieve PONV after laparoscopic surgeries, but its role in patients with obesity after LSG has yet to be confirmed.

METHODS

Ninety-five female patients who underwent LSG were randomized into two groups: AA combined with conventional anti-nausea medication (AA group, 47 patients) or conventional anti-nausea medication group (control group, 48 patients). Index of nausea and vomiting and retching (INVR) scores, postoperative anti-vomiting medication use, time of first anus exhausting, time of first fluid intake, and time of first to get out of bed were collected within 48 h after surgery.

RESULTS

Demographic data of patients in both groups were balanced and comparable. INVR score (F = 7.505, P = 0.007), vomiting score (F = 11.903, P = 0.001), and retching score (F = 12.098, P = 0.001) were significantly lower in the AA group than that in the control group within 48 h postoperatively. Use of metoclopramide was significantly less in the AA group than in the control group (4.7 [5.5]) vs. 8.8 [7.6], P = 0.004); time to first anus exhausting was significantly less in the AA group than in the control group (17.50 [6.00] vs. 20.42 [8.62], P = 0.020).

CONCLUSIONS

AA combined with conventional anti-vomiting agents can alleviate PONV in female patients after LSG, and AA can promote gastrointestinal exhaustion.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The trial has been registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) with the registration no. ChiCTR2100047381 on June 13, 2021.

The Effect of Auriculotherapy on Nausea, Vomiting, and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Elective Cesarean Section with Spinal Anesthesia: A Clinical Trial Study

Background

Nausea, vomiting, and anxiety are common complications during and after spinal anesthesia. Auriculotherapy as a complementary medicine can be useful for reducing nausea, vomiting, or anxiety. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of auriculotherapy on nausea, vomiting, and anxiety in patients undergoing elective Cesarean Section (CS) with spinal anesthesia.

Materials and Methods

The present study was a clinical trial study that was performed on 56 pregnant women selected as CS candidates in Ommolbanin Hospital in Mashhad during the years 2016-2017. In the intervention group, 1 h before spinal anesthesia, auricular acupoint stimulation was performed at four points bilaterally, for 20-30 seconds at each point. Evaluations were done by the following questionnaires: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Vomiting Assessment Form.

Results

The mean anxiety (SD) before the intervention in the intervention group and the control group was 47.88 (8.67) and 47.84 (10.49), respectively, and 4 h after the intervention, it was 40.23 (10.19) and 42.88 (12.18) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. These results were significant in the intervention group (p = 0.008). 30-40 min before and 4 h after the surgery, the severity of nausea and vomiting was low in both groups and no significant difference was observed between the two groups during the surgery and in the recovery room (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

According to the results, auriculotherapy could reduce anxiety in CS patients with spinal analgesia. The results also showed that auriculotherapy reduced the severity of nausea and vomiting, but these changes were not significant.

The analgesic effect and inflammatory mechanism of nonsteroidal analgesics combined with nerve block in post-gynecologic surgery patients

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the analgesic effect and inflammatory mechanism of nonsteroidal analgesics combined with nerve block in post-gynecologic surgery patients.

METHODS

Sixty patients who underwent gynecological laparotomies in our hospital were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study, with 30 patients administered nonsteroidal analgesics combined with nerve block (the observation group) and 30 patients administered nonsteroidal analgesics alone (the control group). The patients in the observation group were administered an intravenous injection of flurbiprofen axetil 1 mg/kg before the end of the operation, and 0.375% ropivacaine was used for bilateral transversus abdominis plane block after the operation. The patients in the control group were administered only an intravenous injection of flurbiprofen axetil 1 mg/kg before the end of the operation. The blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and the numerical rating scale (NRS) scores were recorded before the operation (T0) and at 1 h (T1), 6 h (T2), 12 h (T3), and 24 h (T4) after the recovery from the anesthesia. The incidences of emergence agitation, and the operation and recovery times in the two groups were recorded. Blood samples were collected before and at one day after the operations to measure the inflammatory factor levels such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α.

RESULTS

The BP, HR, and the VAS and NRS scores in the observation group at T1, T2, T3, and T4 were lower than they were in the control group (P<0.01). The inflammatory factor levels after the operation in the observation group were lower than they were in the control group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the incidences of complications between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Flurbiprofen axetil combined with ropivacaine for bilateral transversus abdominis plane block has a significant analgesic effect on patients after gynecologic surgery. The mechanism may be due to the fact that nonsteroidal analgesics combined with nerve block further reduce the inflammatory factors in the body, which proves the superiority of multimodal analgesia.

Influencing Factors of Gastrointestinal Function Recovery after Gastrointestinal Malignant Tumor

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor with a high incidence in the world, and the incidence rate only increases every year. Because of the loss of mental property caused by surgery and postoperative recovery treatment, it has become a difficult problem for many families to solve. Exploring the factors affecting the recovery of gastrointestinal function after surgery to accelerate the recovery has become one of the important research topics of current medical experts and scholars. The purpose of this article is to explore the factors affecting the recovery of gastrointestinal function after gastrointestinal malignancies. In this paper, firstly through experimental investigation, the fasting time and operation method of patients undergoing gastrointestinal malignant tumor surgery are used as variables to conduct a controlled experiment, and the first defecation time, exhaust time, and bowel sound recovery of the experimental subjects after surgery are recorded. Changes in time and other indicators are compared to verify whether they affect the recovery of gastrointestinal function. Experimental data showed that the recovery time of bowel sounds was 29.10 ± 11.09 h in patients with fasting time less than or equal to 2 days after operation, the time of first exhaustion was 28.75 ± 27.80 h, and the time of first defecation was 54.70 ± 39.40 h. The recovery time of bowel sounds in patients with fasting time longer than 2 days was 40.47 ± 9.40 h, the first exhaust time was 71.40 ± 17.54 h, and the first defecation time was 98.30 ± 28.16 h. Therefore, resuming diet as soon as possible after operation is beneficial to the recovery of gastrointestinal function in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies.