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Ear-Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Body Acupuncture for Gut Motility in Elderly ICU Patients

1. oktober 2026 opdateret af: Qian Zhang, The First Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University

Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Combined With Body Acupuncture for Gut-Brain Axis Modulation and Improved Gastrointestinal Motility in Elderly Critically Ill Patients

This study aims to investigate whether acupuncture, specifically a combination of body acupuncture and ear vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), can improve gastrointestinal function in critically ill elderly patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Gastrointestinal motility problems, such as delayed stomach emptying and constipation, are common in elderly ICU patients and can interfere with feeding, increase infection risk, and worsen outcomes. This research will test if adding acupuncture to standard care helps patients tolerate tube feeding (enteral nutrition) faster, reduces the need for intravenous nutrition, and improves overall recovery. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: standard care alone, standard care plus body acupuncture, or standard care plus both body acupuncture and ear vagus nerve stimulation. The study will compare the time it takes to achieve target feeding goals, changes in gastrointestinal function scores, and other clinical outcomes. This single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial will enroll 60 elderly patients from the Geriatric ICU of Jiangsu Province Hospital and aims to provide evidence for integrating traditional Chinese medicine into critical care practice.

Studieoversigt

Status

Ikke rekrutterer endnu

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Undersøgelsestype

Interventionel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

60

Fase

  • Ikke anvendelig

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiekontakt

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

65 år og ældre (Ældre voksen)

Tager imod sunde frivillige

Ingen

Køn, der er berettiget til at studere

Alle

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥ 65 years.
  2. Critically ill patients admitted to the ICU with APACHE II score ≥ 15.
  3. NRS 2002 score ≥ 3 at ICU admission, indicating risk of malnutrition and requiring nutritional support.
  4. Presence of gastrointestinal dysfunction or at risk, with AGI grade I-II.
  5. Condition considered reversible.
  6. Written informed consent obtained from the participant or legal representative before any study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. ICU length of stay less than 7 days.
  2. Presence of severe gastrointestinal disease with contraindications to enteral nutrition and inability to receive conventional medications via the enteral route, such as acute gastrointestinal bleeding, mechanical intestinal obstruction, post-abdominal surgery, or abdominal compartment syndrome.
  3. Skin lesions at the acupuncture sites that are not suitable for acupuncture treatment.
  4. Advanced malignancy with significantly shortened life expectancy.
  5. Participation in another clinical trial.
  6. The treating clinician determines that the intervention is not in the patient's best interest.

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

  • Primært formål: Støttende pleje
  • Tildeling: Randomiseret
  • Interventionel model: Parallel tildeling
  • Maskning: Enkelt

Våben og indgreb

Deltagergruppe / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Aktiv komparator: Standard Care Group

Standard Care Group

Standard ICU care including hemodynamic management, enteral nutrition support per protocol (energy target: 25 kcal/kg ideal body weight/day; protein target: 1.3 g/kg ideal body weight/day), and management of feeding complications such as diarrhea, abdominal distension, and gastric retention. Enteral nutrition is initiated within 24-48 hours of ICU admission.

Aktiv komparator: Body Acupuncture Group

Participants receive standard ICU care plus body acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture is performed daily by a licensed acupuncturist with 10 years of experience. Needles are inserted at acupoints including CV12, CV10, ST36, PC6, and others, retained for 30 minutes per session. The intervention continues from ICU admission until ICU discharge, death, or discontinuation of nutritional support.

Standard ICU care including hemodynamic management, enteral nutrition support per protocol (energy target: 25 kcal/kg ideal body weight/day; protein target: 1.3 g/kg ideal body weight/day), and management of feeding complications such as diarrhea, abdominal distension, and gastric retention. Enteral nutrition is initiated within 24-48 hours of ICU admission.

Acupuncture at body acupoints including CV13 (Shangwan), CV12 (Zhongwan), CV10 (Xiawan), ST21 (Liangmen), ST25 (Tianshu), SP15 (Daheng), CV4 (Guanyuan), CV6 (Qihai), CV7 (Yinjiao), LI4 (Hegu), TE6 (Zhigou), ST36 (Zusanli), ST37 (Shangjuxu), ST41 (Jiexi), and LR3 (Taichong). Sterile disposable needles (0.25mm × 40mm) are inserted 1-1.5 cun to achieve deqi sensation, retained for 30 minutes per session, once daily.

Eksperimentel: Combined Auricular VNS and Body Acupuncture Group

Participants receive standard ICU care, body acupuncture (as described in Arm 2), and additional transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS). A medium-frequency electrical stimulator is applied to the cymba concha region of the ear (25 Hz, 0-2 mA, 30 minutes per session, once daily). The intervention continues from ICU admission until ICU discharge, death, or discontinuation of nutritional support.

Standard ICU care including hemodynamic management, enteral nutrition support per protocol (energy target: 25 kcal/kg ideal body weight/day; protein target: 1.3 g/kg ideal body weight/day), and management of feeding complications such as diarrhea, abdominal distension, and gastric retention. Enteral nutrition is initiated within 24-48 hours of ICU admission.

Acupuncture at body acupoints including CV13 (Shangwan), CV12 (Zhongwan), CV10 (Xiawan), ST21 (Liangmen), ST25 (Tianshu), SP15 (Daheng), CV4 (Guanyuan), CV6 (Qihai), CV7 (Yinjiao), LI4 (Hegu), TE6 (Zhigou), ST36 (Zusanli), ST37 (Shangjuxu), ST41 (Jiexi), and LR3 (Taichong). Sterile disposable needles (0.25mm × 40mm) are inserted 1-1.5 cun to achieve deqi sensation, retained for 30 minutes per session, once daily.

Medium-frequency electrical stimulator (SNM-FDCM01, Ningbo Maida Medical Instruments Co., Ltd.) applied to the cymba concha region of the ear. Parameters: active period 2 seconds, rest period 3 seconds; pulse width 0.5 ms; frequency 25 Hz; intensity 0-2 mA (maximum tolerable by patient); 30 minutes per session, once daily.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Tidsramme
Time to Achieve Enteral Nutrition Target
Tidsramme: From ICU admission up to 28 days
From ICU admission up to 28 days

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Change in Acute Gastrointestinal Injury (AGI) Grade
Tidsramme: Baseline Day3 Day 7
Baseline Day3 Day 7
Change in Feeding Intolerance Score (FIS)
Tidsramme: Baseline Day3 Day 7

Minimum Value: 0 (The lowest score, where all evaluation items are scored as 0).

Maximum Value: 15. The score is calculated by summing three items (abdominal distension and/or pain + nausea and/or vomiting + diarrhea). Since each item has a maximum score of 5, the theoretical maximum total score is 5 + 5 + 5 = 15.

Interpretation (Higher vs. Worse): Higher scores indicate a worse outcome. A higher score represents more severe feeding intolerance (e.g., severe abdominal distension, frequent vomiting, massive diarrhea), requiring stricter clinical management. According to the notes in the image:

0-2 points: Continue enteral nutrition, increase or maintain the original rate, and provide symptomatic treatment.

3-4 points: Continue enteral nutrition, slow down the rate, and reassess after 2 hours.

≥5 points: Suspend enteral nutrition and take corresponding management measures.

Baseline Day3 Day 7
Change in Gastrointestinal Dysfunction Score (GIDS)
Tidsramme: Baseline Day3 Day 7

Minimum Value: 0 (0 - No risk: No symptoms, or any of the listed conditions present at the time of oral intake).

Maximum Value: 4 (4 - Life-threatening: One of the listed conditions present).

Interpretation (Higher vs. Worse): Higher scores indicate a worse outcome. Higher scores represent more severe gastrointestinal dysfunction and a higher risk of mortality. The specific grades are as follows:

0 (No risk): No symptoms, or any of the following conditions present at the time of oral intake (e.g., absent bowel sounds, vomiting, gastric residual volume >200ml, etc.).

  1. (Increased risk): Two of the following symptoms are present (e.g., no oral intake, absent bowel sounds, vomiting, gastric residual volume >200ml, etc.).
  2. (Gastrointestinal dysfunction): Three or more symptoms scored as 1, OR two of the following symptoms (severe diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding requiring transfusion, intra-abdominal pressure >20 mmHg).
  3. (Gastrointestinal failure): Three or more of the followin
Baseline Day3 Day 7
Change in Intra-Abdominal Pressure (IAP)
Tidsramme: Baseline Day3 Day 7
Baseline Day3 Day 7
Change in Plasma Levels of Intestinal Injury Biomarkers (I-FABP)
Tidsramme: Baseline Day 7

ng/mL

Baseline Day 7
Change in Plasma Levels of Intestinal Injury Biomarkers (DAO)
Tidsramme: Baseline and Day 7

ng/mL

Baseline and Day 7
Proportion of Participants Requiring Supplemental Parenteral Nutrition (SPN)
Tidsramme: Day 7
Day 7
Incidence of Secondary Intestinal Infections
Tidsramme: Up to 28 days from ICU admission
Up to 28 days from ICU admission
Duration of Mechanical Ventilation
Tidsramme: Up to 28 days from ICU admission
Up to 28 days from ICU admission
Length of ICU Stay
Tidsramme: Up to 28 days from ICU admission
Up to 28 days from ICU admission
28-Day Mortality
Tidsramme: Day 28
Day 28
Change in Plasma Levels of Citrulline
Tidsramme: Baseline and Day 7

μmol/L

Baseline and Day 7

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

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Sponsor

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Anslået)

1. september 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

1. december 2027

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

1. december 2028

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

20. september 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

1. oktober 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

6. oktober 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

6. oktober 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

1. oktober 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. august 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Andre undersøgelses-id-numre

  • 2026-SR-295

Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)

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JA

IPD-planbeskrivelse

The de-identified individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in this article, including data dictionaries, will be made available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. Data will be available beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication. Proposals should be directed to dongjiaxin1861@163.com. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD-delingstidsramme

Data will be available beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication.

IPD-delingsadgangskriterier

De-identified individual participant data and supporting information will be made available to researchers whose proposed use of the data has been approved by an independent review committee. Requests must be directed to the corresponding author (dongjiaxin1861@163.com) and requestors must sign a data access agreement.

IPD-deling Understøttende informationstype

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

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