CONTEXT: Pain is responsible for adverse events in the postoperative period, as the occurrence of respiratory complications. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in thoracic "abdominal postoperative conditions. METHOD: Medline, LILACS and PEDro databases were searched for randomized controlled trials. Placebo-controlled studies in which TENS was used after thoracic or abdominal surgeries and that had analyzed pain or functional outcomes had been enclosed. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the studies and carried out data extraction. RESULTS: Six articles involving 618 participants have been selected. The qualitative analysis showed moderate evidence that TENS reduces analgesic consumption when compared to control and placebo without significant differences in pain levels at rest. There was conflicting evidence in regards to the effectiveness of TENS in relieving pain during activities and in improving respiratory function. A single study evaluated motor function considering the walk capacity, with its results favoring TENS. CONCLUSIONS: TENS demonstrated specific effectiveness for different outcomes. The results of this systematic review presented no evidences to recommend or reject the use of TENS for functional recovery in the postoperative period. The use of distinct TENS parameters, chosen in a random and unjustified form, made it impossible to determine optimal stimulation patterns.

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A brief summary and a critical assessment of this review may be available at DARE