EFFECT OF TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION ON POSTOPERATIVE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT SURGERY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Background: The management of postoperative pain associated with Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery is a significant global challenge. However, there is a scarcity of evidence in this regard. Therefore this trail aimed to evaluate the effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on postoperative pain associated with CABG surgery.

Methodology: A single-blinded, two-arm, parallel-group design RCT was conducted following CONSORT guidelines. Patients who underwent CABG with a median sternotomy, aged 40 to 70 years were enrolled. However, patients affected by any serious heart or lung pathology were excluded. A sample of 68 patients was randomly divided into Group A (n=34, received TENS+ standard care) and Group B (n=34, received standard care) using simple random sampling. TENS were applied for 5 days, twice daily for 30 minutes. A validated tool Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to document pain pre and post-intervention. Statistical analysis was done through SPSS version 25.0. A Chi- square test was run to evaluate the difference between groups. The p-value ≤ 0.05 is considered statistically significant at 95% CI.

Results: After the application of TENS Group A showed a statistically significant reduction in pain compared to Group B (p-value=< 0.001). In group A, a high proportion of the patients 61.8% experienced no pain. However in group B, the majority of the patients, n= 44.1% reported moderate pain.

Conclusion: This trial concluded significant effects of TENS application along with standard care on pain associated with postoperative CABG surgery. Hence claimed potential role of TENS as cost and time-effective for pain management.