The Effect of Electroacustimulation on Postoperative Nausea, Vomiting and Pain in Outpatient Plastic Surgery Patients

The Effect of Electroacustimulation on Postoperative Nausea, Vomiting and Pain in Outpatient Plastic Surgery Patients: A Prospective, Randomized, Blinded Clinical Trial

Introduction: Current rates of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) experienced by outpatient surgery patients are as high as 20-30%. Electroacustimulation (EAS) therapy has been demonstrated to be effective in controlling these symptoms, but trials identifying their efficacy in the outpatient surgery population are lacking. This study integrates conventional pharmacotherapy with alternative medicine in prevention of PONV.

Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty two patients undergoing surgery procedures at an outpatient surgery center were randomized to two treatment arms. The first arm was standardized pharmacologic PONV prevention typical for patients undergoing outpatient surgery, while the second arm employed the use of ReliefBand, an FDA-approved electroacustimulation (EAS) device with pharmacologic treatment to relieve symptoms of PONV and pain. EAS is a derivative of acupuncture therapy that uses a small electrical current to stimulate acupuncture points on the human body and is thought to relieve nausea, vomiting and pain. Outcomes measured were post-op questionnaires evaluating pain and nausea symptoms, emetic events, the need for rescue medications and the time to discharge.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Electroacustimulation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 122
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Wisconsin
    • Middleton, Wisconsin, United States, 53719
      • Transformations Surgery Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• undergoing surgery at the University of Wisconsin outpatient surgery center

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy
• currently experiencing menstrual symptoms
• cardiac pacemaker
• previous experience with acupuncture therapy
• pharmacologic treatment for nausea or vomiting in the 24 hours prior to surgery

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Electroacustimulation; Received electroacustimulation at the wrist using a small, battery-powered electroacustimulation device.	Device: Electroacustimulation; Electroacustimulation (EAS) is a derivative form of acupuncture therapy where a small current of electricity instead of a needle is used to stimulate an acupoint on the human body in an effort to create therapeutic effects.; Other Names: ReliefBand (Aeromedix, Jackson, WY)
Sham Comparator: Control; Received a device that was not turned on.	Device: Electroacustimulation; Electroacustimulation (EAS) is a derivative form of acupuncture therapy where a small current of electricity instead of a needle is used to stimulate an acupoint on the human body in an effort to create therapeutic effects.; Other Names: ReliefBand (Aeromedix, Jackson, WY)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Post-operative Nausea Scores	Nausea is scored on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is least nauseated and 10 is severely nauseated. Nausea scores will be collected 30, 60, and 120 minutes after surgery.	24 hours
Incidence of Post-operative Emetic Events		24 hours
Number of Participants With Post-operative Need for Rescue Medications		24 hours
Time to Participant Discharge		24 hours
Phone Survey of Nausea / Vomiting Symptoms 24 Hours Post-op	Phone survey of nausea/vomiting symptoms was administered on postoperative day 1. The survey consists of 8 questions, including: 1) a query about whether or not participant has experienced nausea since returning home; 2) rate nausea severity on a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is the most severe); 3) a query about satisfaction of nausea control; 4) a question asking if they would use the same post-op nausea treatment again; 5) a query about what activities the participant has been unable to do since surgery; 6) whether or not the participant has taken prescription medicine for treatment of nausea since returning home; 7) whether or not participant has taken prescription medicine for treatment of pain since returning home; and 8) if yes for 6-7, which medications.	24 hours post-op

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Postoperative Pain Scores	Participants will evaluate their postoperative pain score on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is the least pain and 10 is the most severe pain. Pain scores will be evaluated at 30, 60, and 120 minutes postop.	24 hours
Number of Participants Who Took Pain Medicine in the First 24 Hours Post-op	Phone survey of post-op pain medication usage was administered on postoperative day 1.	24 hours post-op

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Karol A Gutowski, MD, NorthShore University HealthSystem

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gan TJ, Jiao KR, Zenn M, Georgiade G. A randomized controlled comparison of electro-acupoint stimulation or ondansetron versus placebo for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Anesth Analg. 2004 Oct;99(4):1070-1075. doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000130355.91214.9E.
• Larson JD, Gutowski KA, Marcus BC, Rao VK, Avery PG, Stacey DH, Yang RZ. The effect of electroacustimulation on postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain in outpatient plastic surgery patients: a prospective, randomized, blinded, clinical trial. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2010 Mar;125(3):989-94. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3181ccdc23.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2009
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2009
• First Posted (Estimate): July 17, 2009

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 25, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 12, 2020
• Last Verified: August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Postoperative Complications; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Nausea; Vomiting; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
• Other Study ID Numbers: H-2007-0100

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No