[Effect of combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia in thyroid nodule ablation and its effect on serum β-endorphin].

Objective: To investigate the anesthetic effect of combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia in microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules and its effect on serum β-endorphin.

Methods: A total of 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria and received microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group, with 30 patients in each. The patients in the treatment group were given combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia, and those in the control group were given intravenous anesthesia. The two groups were compared in terms of the sedative and analgesic effects of anesthesia, amount of anesthetics used, incidence rate of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression, and change in serum β-endorphin level before anesthesia, before surgery, and after the surgery.

Results: Both groups obtained satisfactory anesthetic effects. Compared with the control group, the sedation score, the amounts of fentanyl and propofol used, the incidence rates of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression in the treatment group were obviously lower (<0.05, <0.01). The treatment group had an increase in serum β-endorphin level before surgery and at the end of surgery (<0.05), while the control group showed no significant change in serum β-endorphin level at each time point.

Conclusion: In microwave ablation of benign thyroid nodules, combined acupuncture-medicine anesthesia has good sedative and analgesic effects and can reduce the amounts of anesthetics used as well as the incidence rates of intraoperative snore and respiratory depression. The analgesic effect of acupuncture anesthesia is associated with increased β-endorphin secretion.