Table 2.
Key intervention characteristics and perioperative care protocols of the trials contributing to the quantitative synthesis.
| Study | Modality | Control design | Acupoints used | Frequency setting | ERAS status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zheng et al. (35) | TEAS | No-sham (the control group received no stimulation) | Unilateral LI4–PC8 electrode pair; bilateral ST36 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | No |
| Chen et al. (36) | TEASa | No-sham | PC6, ST36 | Acupoint-specific fixed frequencies (ST36 25 Hz; PC6 100 Hz)b | No |
| Gu et al. 2018 (19) | TEAS | Sham (electrodes applied at the same acupoints and connected to the stimulator, which was not switched on) | Bilateral ST36 and PC6 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | No |
| Gu et al. 2019 (37) | TEAS | Sham (stimulator output wire broken, no current delivered) | Bilateral ST36 and PC6 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | No |
| Zhou et al. (38) | TEAS | No-sham | LI4, PC6, BL21, BL27, ST36, ST37 | Alternating 20/100 Hz | Yes |
| Pei et al. (20)c | EA | Sham (no skin penetration, no current) | Bilateral PC6, ST36, ST37 | Fixed 50 Hz | Yesd |
| Guan et al. (40) | EA | Sham (adhesive surface electrodes at the same acupoints without needle insertion; the device was switched on with the indicator light visible to the patient but delivered no current) | Bilateral PC6, LI4, ST36, LI11 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | Yes |
| Jung et al. (21) | EA | No-sham | Bilateral ST36, SP6, LI4, TE6, LV3, LI11; unilateral GV20, EX-HN3, GV26, CV24 | Fixed 100 Hz | No |
| Cai et al. (22) | EA | Sham (same needling setup without current) | Bilateral ST36, SP6, LI4 | Fixed 10 Hz | Yes |
| Ding and Huang (23) | EA | Sham (electrode pads at non-acupoints 2 cm from the true points, without skin penetration; lead wires severed so that no current was delivered) | GV20 (single midline point); PC6 (unilateral); ST25 and ST36 (bilateral) | Alternating 2/100 Hz | No |
| Wang et al. (41) | TEAS | No-sham (parenteral nutrition alone, without acupoint stimulation) | Bilateral ST36, PC6, LI4 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | No |
| Huang and Li (24) | TEAS | No-sham (fast-track nursing alone, without acupoint stimulation) | LI4, PC6, ST36, SP10, SP6; additional points individualized | Fixed 10 Hz | Yes |
| Shi et al. (39) | TEAS | Sham (same transcutaneous procedure; stimulator not switched on) | ST36, PC6, LI4 | Alternating 2/100 Hz | Yes |
EA, electroacupuncture; ERAS, enhanced recovery after surgery; Hz, hertz; TEAS, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation; BL, Bladder; CV, Conception Vessel; EX-HN, Extra points of Head and Neck; GV, Governor Vessel; LI, Large Intestine; LV, Liver; PC, Pericardium; SP, Spleen; ST, Stomach; TE, Triple Energizer.
Qualifying domains supporting each ERAS classification are listed in Supplementary Table S7. Stimulation parameters, delivery method, treatment schedule and practitioner background are given in Supplementary Table S2.
Although termed “transcutaneous electroacupuncture” in the report, the intervention was classified as TEAS because stimulation was delivered through surface electrodes without needle insertion.
The report interchanged the labels for ST36 and PC6; acupoints were coded according to the anatomical descriptions, while the reported frequency assignments were retained.
Three-arm trial; the sham arm is shown here (standard-care comparison, Table 4, Panel B).
Classified as ERAS-based although the perioperative pathway was called standard care in the original report, because five qualifying enhanced-recovery domains were described as implemented in both groups (Supplementary Table S7).