Electroacupuncture for pain treatment after total knee arthroplasty.

In a single-blind randomised preliminary study evaluating the analgesic effect of electroacupuncture for postoperative pain in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, Tzeng et al 1 showed that electroacupuncture delayed the first demand for epidural patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), but did not decrease the total dosage of PCA solution or the incidence of postoperative vomiting. Given that total knee arthroplasty is a common surgical procedure and is frequently associated with severe postoperative pain,2 their findings have potential implications. In a randomised controlled trial, however, to differentiate the effect of one factor on study endpoints, all of the other factors have to be standardised. In this study, several important issues were not well addressed. First, preoperative psychological comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, negative mood and pain …