Riassunto dello studio

58 patients undergoing pediatric orthopedic surgery were randomized to receive transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS; n=29) or sham-TEAS (n=29). The primary outcome of interest was the severity of postoperative pain assessed before leaving the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and at 2, 24, and 48 hours. Secondary outcomes of interest included the occurrence of emergence agitation, intraoperative consumption of remifentanil, time to extubation, time to first press of the patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, total number of PCA pump presses, perioperative hemodynamic parameters, incidence of adverse events, and parental satisfaction. Overall, the results of the study revealed that TEAS significantly reduced postoperative pain scores before leaving the PACU and at postoperative 2 and 24 hours compared to sham-TEAS. There were also significant reductions in emergence agitation, intraoperative remifentanil consumption, and time to extubation, with improved parental satisfaction in the TEAS group. In conclusion, TEAS was found to be an effective and safe modality for reducing postoperative pain and enhancing recovery in pediatric orthopedic surgery, indicating its potential as a beneficial component of postoperative care within the ERAS protocol.