Effect of TEAS combined with general anesthesia on early postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing single-port thoracoscopic lobectomy

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on early cognitive function in elderly patients after single port thoracoscopic lobectomy. METHODS: One hundred and nine patients who underwent single whole thoracoscopic lobectomy in Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to October 2021 were included in this single-center, retrospective observational study. According to the treatment records, before anesthesia, 56 patients received TEAS (TEAS-group), and 53 patients applied electrodes at the same acupoint without electrical stimulation (control-group). Preoperative and postoperative cognitive function (Mini mental state examination, MMSE score), serum neuron specific enolase (NSE), S100β protein and p-tau protein levels and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After operation, the MMSE of the TEAS-group was significantly better than that of the Control-group, with the MMSE of the TEAS-group returned to the preoperative level 72 hours after operation. Serum NSE, S100β and p-tau concentrations 24 hours and 72 hours after operation in the TEAS-group returned to their preoperative level and were significantly lower than those in the control-group. Hospitalization time of the TEAS-group was significantly shorter and hospitalization expenses were significantly lower comparing to the control-group. CONCLUSION: TEAS treatment could promote improved early postoperative cognitive function of elderly patients undergoing single port thoracoscopic lobectomy and could accelerate the recovery.