ArticlePain and therapy2025
Transauricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Analgesia following Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Article in Pain and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on postoperative pain in patients undergoing thoracoscopic partial lung resection: a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial.Annals of medicine · 2026Trial
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for postoperative nausea and vomiting in gynecological laparoscopic surgery: a randomized controlled trial protocol.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Cervical Erector Spinae Plane Block for Shoulder Arthroscopy: A Favorable Alternative to Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block? A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Pain Relief in Patients Undergoing Elective Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Tumor Surgery.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for postoperative pain: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionDespite growing interest in non-pharmacological analgesia, clinical evidence supporting transauricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) for postoperative pain management following arthroscopic shoulder surgery remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of taVNS in postoperative analgesia after shoulder arthroscopy.
methodsSeventy patients scheduled for arthroscopic shoulder surgery were randomly assigned to two groups on the basis fo computer-generated concealed allocation sequences. The intervention group received taVNS once on the day of surgery and once daily for the following two consecutive days, with each session lasting 2 h. The control group received sham stimulation following an identical schedule. The primary outcome was total sufentanil consumption within 24 h postoperatively.
resultsPostoperative sufentanil consumption at 24 and 48 h, resting Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) scores at 4, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h, and the requirement for rescue analgesia were all significantly lower in the taVNS group compared with the sham stimulation group (all P < 0.05). In addition, quality of recovery-15 (QoR-15) scores at 24, 48, and 72 h post surgery were significantly higher in the taVNS group (all P < 0.05). No significant intergroup differences were observed in hemodynamic parameters (all P > 0.05). The incidences of nausea, vomiting, constipation, and gastrointestinal dysmotility were lower in the taVNS group, while other adverse events did not differ significantly between groups.
conclusionsTaVNS demonstrates both safety and efficacy in the management of postoperative pain following shoulder arthroscopy. Its application is associated with a reduction in analgesic requirements and contributes to an improved quality of recovery during the early postoperative period.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier no. ChiCTR2400094087.
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