Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), acupressure, music, and massage all demonstrated effective pain relief after cardiac surgery, one study found.
Several studies had already shown that nonpharmacologic techniques are effective in relieving pain after cardiac surgery. To determine the quantitative effect of these factors, the researchers, Liu et al, searched 6 databases and collected information from randomized clinical trials.
One author extracted the relevant information from eligible trials; a second author independently reviewed the data. Before analyzing the extracted data, 2 investigators independently assessed the quality of the included studies.
A conventional meta-analysis was conducted using either fixed- or random-effects models according to statistical heterogeneity. The Bayesian network meta-analysis was conducted using the consistency model.
The researchers identified 42 trials comparing 14 groups with 4253 patients. They found that TENS, acupressure, music, and massage were effective for pain relief, with TENS being associated with the best probability of successful pain relief after cardiac surgery (cumulative ranking curve surface, 0.97; probability, 77.03%).
Acupressure (cumulative ranking curve surface, 0.79; probability, 30.69%) was the second best option. However, there was no evidence that any pair-up intervention significantly reduced opioid use or anxiety.
The authors concluded that TENS, acupressure, music, and massage all may effectively alleviate postoperative cardiac pain, with TENS representing the best choice for pain relief. Adding other modalities can more effectively care for patients during the stressful time after cardiac surgery. (See Liu M, Ni R, Huang S, et al. Efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions in pain relief and opioid consumption after cardiac surgery: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis [published online ahead of print August 10, 2022]. J Clin Nurs. doi:10.1111/jocn.16482. Trial Registration: PROSPERO CRD42021246183.)