TEAS for Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain After Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lung Surgery

NCT07494591 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: L25-604
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 216
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

Shoulder pain is a common problem after certain types of lung surgery called video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). This study examines whether a treatment called transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can help reduce this pain. TEAS is a non-invasive technique that uses mild electrical stimulation at specific points on the body.Patients who are having VATS lung surgery will be randomly assigned to either receive TEAS before surgery or standard care. Researchers will measure how much shoulder pain patients experience and compare the two groups.The goal is to see if TEAS can help patients feel less pain and recover better after this type of lung surgery.

Conditions

Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain; Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Incidence of Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain (ISP) with Shoulder Movement at 24 Hours Postoperatively

  Pain intensity will be assessed using the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS, 0-10, with 10 indicating worst pain). Participants will perform maximal shoulder circumduction (anterior, superior, posterior, inferior) in sitting/standing position with elbow extended, and the maximum VRS score will be recorded. ISP is defined as a VRS score ≥1.

  24 Hours Postoperatively

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Cumulative Opioid Consumption at 24 Hours Postoperatively

  24 Hours Postoperatively

• Incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) at 24 Hours Postoperatively

  24 Hours Postoperatively

Other Outcomes (5)

• Incidence of Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain (ISP)

  48 Hours and 72 Hours Postoperatively

• Cumulative Opioid Consumption from 25 to 48 Hours Postoperatively

  48 Hours Postoperatively

• Postoperative Recovery Quality

  24 Hours, 48 Hours, and 72 Hours Postoperatively

Study Arms (2)

TEAS Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive preoperative transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) . TEAS will be administered for 30 minutes twice: (1) the evening before surgery and (2) before anesthesia induction on the day of surgery.

Device: TEAS

Sham TEAS Group

SHAM COMPARATOR

The control group receives a sham stimulation procedure with sensory matching. Sham TEAS will be administered for 30 minutes twice: (1) the evening before surgery and (2) before anesthesia induction on the day of surgery.

Device: Sham TEAS

Interventions

TEAS DEVICE

TEAS is a non-invasive transcutaneous electrical stimulation procedure. The TEAS device delivers a sparse-dense waveform. The current intensity is set within a range of 2-20 mA. The intervention administrator adjusts the current intensity within the pre-defined safety limits according to patient tolerance to maintain a mild soreness/"deqi" sensation. TEAS will be delivered twice for 30 minutes each: in the evening the day before surgery and before anesthesia induction on the day of surgery. Electrodes will be applied at LI4 (Hegu), PC6 (Neiguan), SJ14 (Jianliao), and LI15 (Jianyu).

TEAS Group

Sham TEAS DEVICE

he sham procedure is a sensory-matched inactive stimulation. During the first 30 seconds, identical stimulation parameters to the active TEAS group are delivered using a sparse-dense waveform with instantaneous stimulation (5-10 mA) to produce a mild tingling sensation matched to the active arm. After 30 seconds, the device stops delivering effective electrical current while maintaining normal indicator lights and the operation interface. Sham stimulation is administered twice: in the evening the day before surgery and before anesthesia induction on the day of surgery, for 30 minutes each time. Electrode placement is identical to the TEAS arm at LI4 (Hegu), PC6 (Neiguan), SJ14 (Jianliao), and LI15 (Jianyu).

Sham TEAS Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 99 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Patients scheduled for unilateral thoracic surgery
• Age ≥ 18 years, regardless of gender
• ASA physical status classification I-III
• No severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency or other major comorbidities

You may not qualify if:

• Pre-existing shoulder pain or functional impairment
• Severe mental illness or cognitive impairment
• Bilateral thoracic surgery
• Any other conditions deemed inappropriate by the investigators (with reasons to be documented)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China: lead

Study Sites (3)

Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200082, China

Location

Shanghai East Hospital,Affiliated to Tongji University

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200120, China

Location

Fudan university Shanghai cancer center

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

Location

Study Officials

• Shiyou Wei

  Tongji University Affiliated Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Shiyou Wei

CONTACT

15601680099; lovewishyou@tongji.edu.cn

Xin Lv

CONTACT

13661869919; xinlvg@126.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Attending Physician

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2026
• First Posted: March 27, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 20, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2026
• Last Updated: March 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (3)