Effects of electroacupuncture on general anesthesia recovery of elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupunctrue on the general anesthesia recovery of elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Methods Sixty elderly patients (age≥65) who underwent gastrointestinal surgery with general anesthesia were enrolled and divided into electroacupunctrue group (group A, n=30) and routine anesthesia group (group B, n=30). Electroacupuncture was administered to patients at Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) in group A from 30 minutes before anesthesia to the end of operation. The dose of sedative and analgesic during the surgery, the time of awaking and extubation, the Ramsay score, VAS score, the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects, agitation and chills were compared between the two groups. Results It took significantly less time for patients in group A than patients in group B to respond to verbal command (8.0±1.7) min vs (9.7±1.2) min and follow the instructions (10.3±4.1) min vs (12.9±3.5) min after surgery (P< 0.05, respectively).One hour after extubation, the VAS scores of patients in group A was significantly lower than that in group B (2.2±0.1) vs(3.6±0.4), P< 0.05. The number of patients with severe nausea and vomiting reached the level Ⅳadverse reaction in group A was less than that in group B at 30 min (0 vs 2) and 1 h (0 vs 3) after extubation (P< 0.05, respectively). Conclusion Electroacupuncture can improve the general anesthesia recovery of elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery, which can shorten the time of extubation, strengthen postoperative analgesia effect and reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal side effects.