Electroacupuncture at ST36 to see if it lowers postoperative inflammation after heart surgery with bypass

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This is a randomized, parallel-group trial enrolling adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Participants are assigned after surgery to receive either bilateral ST36 electroacupuncture or a control procedure without electrical stimulation at the same acupoint, each session lasting 30 minutes and repeated twice. All participants receive standard postoperative care, and the primary outcomes include C-reactive protein levels and organ dysfunction scores on postoperative day 2. Secondary outcomes cover vasoactive drug use, inflammatory markers, mechanical ventilation, ICU/hospital length of stay, and other clinical indicators. The study aims to determine if electroacupuncture can modulate the systemic inflammatory response related to CPB and surgical trauma.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age ≥18 years.
* Scheduled to undergo elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) support.
* The surgical procedure may include coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve replacement, valve repair, or another cardiac surgical procedure performed with CPB support.
* Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study and provides written informed consent. If a participant is unable to read and sign the informed consent form because of incapacity or another reason, the informed consent process will be conducted with the participant's legally authorized representative, who will sign on the participant's behalf. If a participant is unable to read the informed consent form, the informed consent process will be witnessed by an independent witness, who will sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Membership in a vulnerable population other than older adults or individuals who are illiterate, including patients with psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment, critical illness, or another vulnerable condition.
* Pregnant or breastfeeding.
* Local skin or soft-tissue infection, erysipelas, or another condition at the acupuncture site that makes acupuncture treatment unsuitable.
* History of organ transplantation.
* Active malignancy.
* Long-term high-dose corticosteroid therapy before surgery, defined as prednisone ≥20 mg/day for ≥14 days or a cumulative prednisone-equivalent dose \>700 mg.
* Severe chronic organ dysfunction before surgery, including any of the following:
* Chronic respiratory disease with a baseline PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio \<300.
* Hematological disease, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma, or a baseline platelet count \<100 × 10⁹/L.
* Chronic liver disease with total bilirubin \>30 μmol/L.
* History of stroke or cerebral hemorrhage with a baseline Glasgow Coma Scale score \<10.
* Chronic renal insufficiency with serum creatinine \>110 μmol/L or long-term daily urine output \<500 mL.
* Unable to tolerate electroacupuncture treatment.
* Currently participating in another interventional clinical study.
* Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, makes the patient unsuitable for participation.

Where it's running

• Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine
  Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Ni Wei
• Email: 3323158@zju.edu.cn
• Phone: +8615868153275

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Can Cardiac Cycle Efficiency predict high-dose vasoactive-inotropic needs after open-heart surgery?

  This study tests whether Cardiac Cycle Efficiency measured after coming off bypass can predict which adults will need high doses of vasoactive and inotropic meds in the first 24 hours after open-heart surgery.

  Recruiting Bursa City Hospital · Nilufer, Bursa · NCT07926360

• Ventilation During Transport of Mechanically Ventilated Patients After Non-Cardiac Surgery

  This observational study looks at how patients who stay intubated after non-cardiac surgery are ventilated during the move from the operating room to the ICU.

  Recruiting Societa Italiana Anestesia Analgesia Rianimazione e Terapia Intensiva · Alessandria, Italy · NCT07646249

• Pupillometry to find children at risk for opioid-related breathing problems after tonsillectomy

  This project will try to see if a quick, noninvasive pupillometry test can identify children having tonsillectomy who are likely to have opioid-related breathing problems after surgery.

  Recruiting NeurOptics Inc · San Francisco, California and 1 other locations · NCT07573150

• Preoperative submaximal exercise testing to predict outcomes after moderate- to high-risk noncardiac surgery

  This study will test whether a brief submaximal cardiopulmonary exercise test done before moderate- to high-risk noncardiac surgery can help predict which adults over 45 are more likely to have problems after surgery.

  Recruiting Yale University · New Haven, Connecticut · NCT07519733

• Global longitudinal strain to predict difficult separation from cardiopulmonary bypass

  This will test whether a heart ultrasound measure called global longitudinal strain (GLS) can predict which adults having elective cardiac surgery will have trouble coming off cardiopulmonary bypass.

  Recruiting at 2 sites Kartal Kosuyolu Yuksek Ihtisas Education and Research Hospital · Rome and 1 other locations · NCT07390903

• Aminophylline versus furosemide for urine output after adult heart surgery

  This trial will test whether aminophylline or furosemide helps increase urine output and lower the chance of kidney injury in adults having planned cardiac surgery.

  Recruiting Cairo University · Cairo · NCT07348510

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.