A randomised study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in relieving post-operative incisional pain. Thirty patients undergoing elective cholecystectomy through a right upper paramedian incision were randomly allocated to one of two groups, to receive different regimens of post-operative analgesia. Fifteen patients in one group received a conventional regimen of on-demand intramuscular papaveretum and 15 patients in the other group received TENS, supplemented by intramuscular papaveretum, if required. The effectiveness of TENS was evaluated by measuring both the analgesic and pulmonary effects on the first, second and fifth post-operative days. Pain was subjectively measured at rest, following deep breathing, and following coughing, using linear analogue pain scales. Pulmonary function was assessed by measuring FVC and FEV1 with a Vitalograph spirometer. The study found no significant difference between the two groups on comparing post-operative FEV1 and FVC values, FEV1/FVC ratio, opiate analgesia requirements, post-operative pulmonary complications or mean number of days before either mobilisation or hospital discharge. Analysis of subjective pain measurements revealed similar pain scores for both groups on all but the second post-operative day where a significant decrease (p < 0.05) was found for both rest pain and deep breathing pain scores for the TENS group. Patients within the TENS group also recorded significantly less pain following coughing on the fifth post-operative day. The degree of pain experienced by patients was found to influence the analgesic effect of TENS. The limited benefits of TENS, following this particular surgical procedure, do not justify the additional cost or time required for its implementation.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PDF locator
• publisher