ArticlePloS one2025
Electroacupuncture for acute postoperative pain during coughing after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Dexketoprofen Trometamol Plus Sufentanil for Analgesia After Thoracoscopic Radical Resection of Lung Cancer: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Trial
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the use of multimodal analgesia regimens following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), acute postoperative pain persists. Electroacupuncture (EA) may alleviate acute postoperative pain following VATS; however, current evidence remains insufficient.
objectivesThis trial will assess the feasibility and efficacy of EA as an adjunctive treatment compared with sham electroacupuncture (SA) for managing acute postoperative pain during coughing after VATS. STUDY DESIGN AND
methodsIn this pilot randomized controlled trial, 60 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer who will undergo VATS will be randomly assigned to either the EA or SA group in a 1:1 ratio. Patients will receive standard care combined with four sessions of EA or SA within 72 h after surgery. The primary outcome will be the average postoperative pain score during coughing, measured using a numeric rating scale within 72 h after surgery. Secondary outcomes will include the average daily pain scores at rest, during coughing, and while mobilizing; incidence of chronic post-surgical pain; quality of life; cough symptom score; and analgesic consumption. All adverse events will be recorded in detail. DISCUSSION: This study will determine whether EA as an adjunctive treatment can reduce acute postoperative pain during coughing following VATS.
trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov ITMCTR2024000170 (http://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/zh-CN/Home/ProjectView?pid=f1a344f7-7e06-4665-ad9d-0917d588eba6).
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