SynthesisPloS one2023
Efficacy and safety of electrical acupoint stimulation for postoperative nausea and vomiting: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing breast surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The healing power of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: a systematic review on its effects after breast surgery.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation versus acupressure on the trajectories of multidimensional adverse reactions to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Trial
- Patient-Controlled Real-Time Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation at Neiguan (PC6) for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Breast Cancer: An Exploratory Single-Arm Two-Stage Trial.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Trial
- Efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation and acupressure in alleviating chemotherapy-related adverse reactions in female patients with breast cancer: a randomized clinical trial.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation Applied During the Post-Anesthesia Recovery Period in Improving Postoperative Recovery Quality After Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Therapeutics and clinical risk management · 2025Trial
- Exploration of treatment strategies and susceptibility gene of postoperative nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients: a randomised controlled trial.Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) · 2024Trial
- Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation on the Incidence of Hypoxia in Elderly Patients Undergoing Painless Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain research & management · 2024Trial
- The effect of press-needle therapy on postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing bronchoscopy under general anesthesia in China: a quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Electroacupuncture of ST36 and PC6 for postoperative gastrointestinal recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Design dimensions of electrocutaneous warning stimulation patterns in workplace safety devices.PloS one · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostoperative nausea and vomiting are typical postsurgical complications. Drug therapy is only partially effective. The goal of our meta-analysis is to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of electrical acupoint stimulation for postoperative nausea and vomiting and to score the quality of evidence supporting this concept.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to March 19, 2020.
resultsTwenty-six studies (2064 patients) were included. Compared with control treatment, electrical acupoint stimulation reduced the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.57, P < 0.001), postoperative nausea (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.64, P < 0.001) and postoperative vomiting (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.70, P < 0.001). Electrical acupoint stimulation also reduced the number of patients requiring antiemetic rescue (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.85, P = 0.004). No differences in adverse events were observed. Subgroup analysis showed that both electroacupuncture (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.74, P < 0.001) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (RR 0.44, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.58, P < 0.001) had significant effects. Electrical acupoint stimulation was effective whether administered preoperatively (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.60, P < 0.001), postoperatively (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.76, P < 0.001), or perioperatively (RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.67, P < 0.001). The quality of evidence was moderate to low.
conclusionsElectrical acupoint stimulation probably reduce the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, postoperative nausea, postoperative vomiting, and reduce the number of patients requiring antiemetic rescue, with few adverse events.
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