The effectiveness of acupuncture point stimulation for the prevention of postoperative sore throat: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Enhanced recovery pathways can be further improved for postoperative sore throat (POST) that occurs after surgery under general anesthesia. Medications have shown some effectiveness in preventing POST, but acupuncture or related techniques with better safety and lower cost can be used as an alternative or adjuvant therapy to treat perioperative symptoms by stimulating acupuncture point (acupoint). Therefore, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to assess whether acupoint stimulation helps patients prevent POST in adults undergoing tracheal intubation for general anesthesia.Methods: Publications in PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalTrial.gov were surveyed from January 2000 through August 2020. Studies that compared interventions between true acupoint stimulation and no or sham acupoint stimulation were included. The primary outcomes were the incidence and severity of POST at 24h.Results: Four randomized control trials and 1 comparative study involving 1478 participants were included. Compared with the no or sham acupoint stimulation, the true acupoint stimulation was associated with a reduced incidence (risk ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.18-0.55; P < .001) and decreased severity (standardized mean difference, −2.79; 95% CI, −4.59 to − 0.99; P = .002) of POST. There were no significant adverse events related to acupoint stimulation. The finding for POST was assured by subgroup, sensitivity, and trial sequential analyses.Conclusions: Acupoint stimulation may reduce the occurrence of POST. It can be considered as one of nonpharmacological methods to prevent POST in enhanced recovery pathways. Further rigorous studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of acupoint stimulation.

Effects of preoperative inhaled budesonide combined with intravenous dexamethasone on postoperative sore throat in patients who underwent thyroidectomy: A randomized controlled trial

“…Some studies have shown that medications, such as dexamethasone, lidocaine, ketamine, and magnesium, are effective in preventing POST. [5][6][7][8][9] In addition, non-pharmacological methods for preventing POST have been introduced [2,10,11] ; however, POST cannot be completely avoided. Furthermore, the incidence of POST after thyroid surgery is higher than that after other surgeries, and is also significantly higher in females.…”

“…Although POST is a minor complication, it reduces patient satisfaction and extends the hospital stay. [ 1 , 2 ] The incidence of POST ranges between 12.1% and 70%, depending on the study. [ 3 ] The etiology of POST involves damage to the airway mucosa due to endotracheal intubation under GA. [ 4 ] The symptoms of POST include pain, discomfort, hoarseness, and coughing.…”