Efficacy of electro-acupuncture for gastrointestinal motility after colorectal cancer surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background Gastrointestinal dysfunction is a common and major complication after colorectal cancer surgery that results in significant psychological disturbance and economic burden. Although some studies have shown the potential therapeutic effect of acupuncture on gastrointestinal motility recovery, there is still a lack of high-quality evidence. Methods The trial is designed as a multicentre, parallel-group, randomized, single-blinded (outcome assessors), superiority, randomized trial. A total of 160 eligible patients will be randomly assigned to two groups: the electro-acupuncture (EA) group and the routine treatment (RT) group. Patients in the EA group will receive EA combined with routine treatment. EA will be administered for 30 minutes, once a day, starting 24 hours after surgery and lasting for 3 days. Patients in the RT group will receive routine intervention lasting until the patients are discharged from the hospital. The primary outcome will be the time to first flatus. The secondary outcomes will include the time to first defecation, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for postoperative incision pain or abdominal pain, quality of recovery-40 (QOR-40) scores and the length of hospital stay. These outcomes will be evaluated at 24 h as well as on the 2nd and 3rd days after surgery. Any side effects of the treatment will be observed and recorded. Discussion We expect that the study results will provide high-level evidence to determine the effects of EA on gastrointestinal motility recovery after colorectal cancer surgery.