Trial reportOrthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany)2026
Postoperative pain after joint replacement surgery : A randomized controlled trial of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation and the role of depression and anxiety.
Trial report in Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Efficacy of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic postoperative pain is a common and often insufficiently treated complication that is closely linked with depressive and anxiety symptoms.
objectiveTo investigate whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) reduces postoperative pain and if depressive or anxiety symptoms modulate the treatment effects.
methodsIn a three-arm, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 44 patients undergoing joint replacement surgery were allocated to an intervention group (n = 15), sham group (n = 17), or treatment as usual (TAU) control group (n = 12). Assessments were conducted at hospital admission (T
resultsThere were no significant main or interaction effects of group, time, or group × time on pain intensity (F(2,18) = 0.04, p = 0.959, η2 = 0.003; F(1,18) = 0.89, p = 0.358, η2 = 0.015). The PHQ‑9 scores showed trends for group and time effects (F(2,21) = 5.96, p = 0.009, η2 = 0.322; F(1,21) = 5.06, p = 0.035, η2 = 0.038). The GAD‑7 did not reveal significant effects. Moderation analyses did not indicate any significant effects of depressive or anxiety symptoms on pain change and combined moderation was not significant either.
conclusionIn the present study, taVNS did not reduce postoperative pain and showed no moderating effects of depression or anxiety. Standardization of stimulation parameters, inclusion of psychological and somatic comorbidities and longer high-frequency follow-up periods are needed for future studies.
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