TEAS reduces preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain in meta-analysis of 1026 surgical patients

PURPOSE: Traditional acupuncture provides sedative and analgesic effects but is invasive and requires skilled practitioners. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is a noninvasive alternative with advantages such as ease of use and reproducibility. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of TEAS on preoperative anxiety and related outcomes. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials from eight databases were analyzed using RevMan5.4 (Version 5.4; Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, England). The outcomes assessed included anxiety, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and sleep quality, all of which were measured preoperatively, while pain was the sole outcome evaluated postoperatively. FINDINGS: A total of 1,026 patients across 12 studies were included. TEAS significantly reduced preoperative anxiety (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.07, P = .0002), heart rate (mean difference [MD] = -8.61, P = .02), mean arterial pressure (SMD = -1.53, P = .04), and postoperative pain (SMD = -1.89, P < .0001). The effect on sleep quality was not significant (SMD = 0.72, P = .13). CONCLUSIONS: TEAS may reduce preoperative anxiety, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and postoperative pain, but its effect on sleep quality is inconclusive. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed.