Research Article: Effect of percutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation combined with nutritional support on gastrointestinal function and nutritional status of patients after unicondylar knee arthroplasty
Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the effects of percutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation combined with nutritional support on the gastrointestinal function and nutritional status of patients following unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA).
This study adopted a randomized controlled trial design. A total of 60 patients who underwent UKA at the Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Hebei Province, from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, were enrolled and randomly divided into the control group (CG, n =?30) and the experimental group (EG, n =?30). The CG received routine treatment and conventional nutritional support, while the EG received percutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation in addition to the same routine treatment and conventional nutritional support. The primary endpoints were the recovery time of bowel sounds, time to first flatus, and time to first defecation. The secondary endpoints included clinical efficacy; serum levels of motilin, gastrin, interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-6; Kolcaba Comfort Scale scores; incidence of adverse reactions; and nutritional indicators.
The total effective rate of the EG was 86.67%, which was significantly higher than that of the CG (63.33%) ( p <?0.05). The recovery time of bowel sounds, time to first flatus, and time to first defecation in the EG were significantly shorter than those in the CG ( p <?0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of motilin, gastrin, IL-2, and IL-6 decreased in both groups; the serum motilin and gastrin levels in the EG were higher than those in the CG ( p <?0.05), while the serum IL-2 and IL-6 levels in the EG were lower than those in the CG ( p <?0.05). After treatment, the Kolcaba Comfort Scale scores in both groups increased, and the EG score was higher than that of the CG ( p <?0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the EG was lower than in the CG ( p <?0.05). The serum levels of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and prealbumin (PAB) in the EG were higher than those in the CG ( p <?0.05).
Percutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation combined with nutritional support can effectively promote gastrointestinal function and improve the nutritional status of patients after UKA.
Introduction:
This study aimed to investigate the effects of percutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation combined with nutritional support on the gastrointestinal function and nutritional status of patients following unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA).
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