Electroacupuncture on Postoperative Urinary Retention After Radical Surgery for Cervical Cancer

Effect of Electroacupuncture on Postoperative Urinary Retention After Radical Surgery for Cervical Cancer： A Randomized Controlled Trial

This is a prospective, blinded, single-center, randomized controlled trial. Investigators will include 208 patients with postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer who have a clear diagnosis and meet the screening criteria. Participants will be randomly divided into the electroacupuncture（EA）group and the sham EA group according to a 1:1 ratio. Each group consists of 104 patients, and all participants will be required to sign a written informed consent form. The TEAS group will be treated with EA based on conventional treatment, and the shamEA group will be treated with sham EA based on conventional treatment. The main outcomes will be to calculate the proportion of patients who successfully removed the urinary catheter, and the secondary indicators will include the change in post-void residual (PVR) volume of the bladder, assessment of urinary tract infection (UTI), and quality of life assessment according to the EORTC QLQ-C30 scale. Evaluation of participant-reported expectations, blinding, compliance, and safety will also be conducted. All analyses will be conducted in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Postoperative Urinary Retention (POUR)
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: EA intervention; Other: Sham EA intervention

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 208
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Chao Lu; Phone Number: 15869128904; Email: 1069103617@qq.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• ① 18 to 70 years old;
• ② Anticipated survival of at least 6 months;
• ③ Met the diagnostic criteria for POUR of cervical cancer, and the duration of POUR is less than 6 months;
• ④ No serious urinary system disease in the past, and no urinary retention before operation;
• ⑤ Karnofsky functional status score (KPS) ≥ 70 points;
• ⑥ Stable vital signs, no serious mental illness, capable of daily living, able to cooperate in completing all treatments and examinations;
• ⑦ Voluntarily participate and sign a written informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

• ① Obstructive urinary retention, such as urethral stricture or stones induced urinary system diseases;
• ② Merge other serious systemic diseases, and advanced cachexia patients;
• ③ Patients who are intolerant to electrical stimulation therapy, such as those with pacemakers installed;
• ④ With psychiatric disorder or severe cognitive impairment;
• ⑤ Severe skin damage, infection, and ulceration at the treatment site;
• ⑥ Those who are participating in other acupuncture or drug clinical trials.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: The EA Group; Participants will receive the EA intervention for two consecutive weeks.	Other: EA intervention; Participants will undergo EA treatment. Acupoint selection: Shenshu(BL23), Pangguanghu (BL28), Ciliao (BL32), Zhongliao (BL33), Huiyang (BL35), and Zhibian (BL54). Acupuncture needles (0.30 × 50 mm) will be vertically inserted into BL32, BL23, BL28, and BL35 at a depth of 40 ± 8 mm. The disposable acupuncture needle (0.45 × 75 mm) will be inserted into BL54 at a depth of 55 ± 10 mm, with the direction of insertion toward Shuidao (ST28). EA will be applied to the BL32 and BL54 points on both sides of the spine at a frequency of 2 Hz and a stimulation intensity of 2 ± 1.5 mA. Each treatment will last for 30 minutes, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks. Follow-up will be performed 2 weeks after the final treatment.
Sham Comparator: The sham EA Group; Participants will receive the sham EA intervention for two consecutive weeks.	Other: Sham EA intervention; Participants will receive sham EA treatment. Acupoint selection: consistent with the EA group. Sham acupuncture procedure: The disposable acupuncture needle (0.25 × 40 mm) will be used, and all acupoints will be shallowly penetrated into the skin using a vertical method, with a needle depth of 5 ± 2 mm. Sham EA application: EA electrodes will be attached identically to the EA group at a frequency of 2 Hz and a nominal intensity of 2 mA. However, no electrical current will be delivered via the EA device, as the connecting wires will undergo specialized modification. Each treatment session will also last 30 minutes, 5 days per week, for 2 weeks. The Follow-up will also be performed 2 weeks after the final treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The response rate of participants who will successfully remove the urinary catheter	The participants in each group who will remove their urinary catheters after intervention, in proportion to the total number of patients in each group, multiplied by 100%. It can also be understood as the initial cure rate of POUR. The standard for patients to remove the urinary catheter is that the PVR volume is less than 100ml.	week 0（baseline），and week 2 (after intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The changes in PVR volume.	It will be measured by professional nurses, using a direct measurement method.	week 0 (baseline), week 2 (after intervention), and week 4 （follow-up）
Assessment of UTI.	Urinalysis or urine culture will be performed confirm the presence or absence of UTI.	week 0 (baseline), week 2 (after intervention), and week 4 （follow-up）
Assessment of patient quality of life.	Patient quality of life according to the EORTC QLQ-C30 scale. Higher scores on the functional subscales indicate better quality of life, whereas higher scores on the symptom subscales reflect more severe symptoms.	week 0 (baseline), week 2 (after intervention), and week 4 （follow-up）

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Expectation evaluation	Evaluation of Participants' Expectations. It can be understood as the proportion of participants who expect effective, ineffective, or unclear treatment outcomes.	week 0 (baseline)
Blinding evaluation	Blinding evaluation. It can be understood as the proportion of participants who are unaware of the intervention methods they have received.	week 2 (after intervention)
Compliance evaluation	Compliance evaluation. It can be understood as the proportion of participants who complete the study.	week 2 (after intervention), and week 4 （follow-up）
Safety evaluation	Safety evaluation.The proportion of participants experiencing adverse events such as needle pain and subcutaneous hematoma.	week 2 (after intervention), and week 4 （follow-up）

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Lu Chao

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 26, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): November 28, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 28, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 26, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Electroacupuncture; EA; Postoperative urinary retention; POUR
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-2025-1315

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No