NCT07795112Recruiting
Electroacupuncture at ST36 for Reducing Postoperative Inflammation After Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Effect of Electroacupuncture at Bilateral Zusanli (ST36) on Postoperative Inflammatory Response and Organ Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Prospective, Randomized, Parallel-Controlled Trial
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 8 Sept 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
Cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass can trigger a marked systemic inflammatory response and may contribute to postoperative organ dysfunction and delayed recovery. Electroacupuncture at the Zusanli acupoint (ST36) may regulate inflammatory responses, but its clinical effects in patients undergoing cardiac surgery remain uncertain. This prospective, randomized, parallel-group study will enroll 140 adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. After surgery and admission to the intensive care unit, participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either bilateral ST36 electroacupuncture or a control procedure involving the same acupoint localization, skin disinfection, needle insertion, and needle retention without electrical stimulation. Both groups will receive standard postoperative care. The intervention will be administered twice for 30 minutes per session. The primary outcomes are C-reactive protein levels and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores on postoperative day 2. Secondary outcomes include the duration of vasoactive drug use, incidence and severity of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit and hospital stay, and perioperative inflammatory markers. The study will evaluate whether ST36 electroacupuncture can reduce postoperative inflammation and organ injury and improve recovery after cardiac surgery.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 140 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 15 Aug 2026
- Start date
- 1 Sept 2026
- Primary completion date
- 1 Feb 2027
- Lead sponsor
- Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital
- NCT number
- NCT07795112
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 140
- From 1 Sept 2026 to the primary completion date, 1 Feb 2027
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Long-term high-dose corticosteroid therapy before surgery, defined as prednisone ≥20 mg/day for ≥14 days or a cumulative prednisone-equivalent dose \>700 mg.
- Severe chronic organ dysfunction before surgery, including any of the following:
Other illness
- Membership in a vulnerable population other than older adults or individuals who are illiterate, including patients with psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment, critical illness, or another vulnerable condition.
- Local skin or soft-tissue infection, erysipelas, or another condition at the acupuncture site that makes acupuncture treatment unsuitable.
- History of organ transplantation.
- Active malignancy.
- Chronic respiratory disease with a baseline PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio \<300.
- History of stroke or cerebral hemorrhage with a baseline Glasgow Coma Scale score \<10.
- Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, makes the patient unsuitable for participation.
Lab values
- Hematological disease, such as leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma, or a baseline platelet count \<100 × 10⁹/L.
- Chronic liver disease with total bilirubin \>30 μmol/L.
- Chronic renal insufficiency with serum creatinine \>110 μmol/L or long-term daily urine output \<500 mL.
Other
- Pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Unable to tolerate electroacupuncture treatment.
- Currently participating in another interventional clinical study.
Who the study is looking for
- Age ≥18 years.
- Scheduled to undergo elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) support.
- The surgical procedure may include coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve replacement, valve repair, or another cardiac surgical procedure performed with CPB support.
- Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study and provides written informed consent. If a participant is unable to read and sign the informed consent form because of incapacity or another reason, the informed consent process will be conducted with the participant's legally authorized representative, who will sign on the participant's behalf. If a participant is unable to read the informed consent form, the informed consent process will be witnessed by an independent witness, who will sign the informed consent form.
Age in the registry: 18 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Hangzhou | China | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.