- 2024-05-22
- International journal of surgery (London, England) 110(8)
- Yilong Liu
- Jiefu Fan
- Xiaoqing Zhang
- Wenping Xu
- Zhiwen Shi
- Jiarong Cai
- Peiqin Wang
Study Design
- Type
- Meta-Analysis
- Population
- postoperative inpatients
- Methods
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 34 RCTs; search up to 25 April 2023; statistical analysis using Stata; risk of bias assessed with Cochrane tool; evidence quality with GRADE.
Objective
To study the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization costs in postoperative inpatients.Methods
Two researchers collectively searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China Network Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database. The search time was set from the beginning to 25 April 2023, to identify randomized controlled trials articles that met the criteria. Statistical analyses were performed using the Stata software (version 16.0). The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger's test. The quality of evidence was assessed according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.Results
Thirty-four randomized controlled trials were included. The main results showed that TEAS reduced hospitalization costs [standardized mean difference (SMD)=-1.92; 95% CI: -3.40, -0.43), LOS (SMD=-1.00; 95% CI: -1.30, -0.70) and postoperative LOS (SMD=-0.70; 95% CI: -0.91, -0.49] in postoperative patients. Subgroup analyses further revealed that TEAS was effective in reducing both the overall and postoperative LOS in patients undergoing multiple surgical procedures. It is worth noting that the observed heterogeneity in the results may be attributed to variations in surgical procedures, stimulation frequencies, and stimulation points utilized in different trials.Conclusions
TEAS can help postoperative patients reduce their LOS and hospitalization cost. However, considering the bias identified and heterogeneity, the results of this review should be interpreted with caution.