TENS Matches Opioids for Pain Relief After Gallbladder Surgery

TOPLINE:

Pain relief with high-frequency, high-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is comparable with intravenous opioids in managing postsurgical pain in patients who undergo laparoscopic surgery for gallbladder removal.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers assessed 163 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at two Swedish centers between 2019 and 2023.
• Patients who experienced postoperative pain with a numerical rating scale (NRS) score ≥ 3 in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) were randomly assigned to receive either TENS or an intravenous opioid.
• The primary outcome was the duration of stay in the PACU.

TAKEAWAY:

• The researchers found no difference in the length of stay in the PACU between electric analgesia and opioid (mean, 138 vs 142 minutes; P = .74).
• Both groups reported similar pain intensity (P = .58), nausea (P = .34), and sedation (P = 1.00) at discharge from the PACU.
• Patients in both groups reported high satisfaction with pain treatment and overall care, with no differences in the mean hospital stay (587 vs 697 minutes; P =  .67).
• The overall consumption of opioids was lower in the TENS group (4.53 vs 11.10 morphine equivalents; P < .001); however, 46% of patients in this group needed additional opioid treatment.

IN PRACTICE:

"High-frequency, high-intensity TENS may be considered an opioid-sparing option for postoperative pain relief and could be envisioned as a first line of treatment for patients reporting postoperative pain intensity at arrival in the PACU rated as NRS ≤ 5, and for patient populations that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of opioids," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Cecilia Ögren, of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care/Pain Centre at Region Västra Götaland at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, and published online on June 29 in the European Journal of Pain.

LIMITATIONS:

The patients were not blinded. Deviations from study protocol may have occurred. Over 20% patients in both groups left the anesthesia care unit despite rating their pain score as ≥ 3.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by Swedish Government, the County Councils, and The Healthcare Board, Region Västra Götaland. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.