RESUMO
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe the effect of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on bone metastasis pain, anxiety and immune function in cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 127 patients with bone metastasis pain from malignant tumors were treated with TEAS or drugs. The TEAS group comprised of 62 patients, while the drug control group comprised of 65 patients. The differences in general indexes, baseline pain and anxiety between these two groups were not statistically significant. RESULTS: Compared with those before treatment, the visual analog scale (VAS) scores of patients in the TEAS group and drug control group decreased after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant. The degrees of pain relief after treatment were similar between the two groups. Anxiety improved in both the TEAS group and drug control group, and the difference between these two groups was not statistically significant. The differences in immune indexes, B cell and CD8 between the TEAS group and drug control group were statistically significant. TEAS treatment could improve the declining trend of CD8 in patients. CONCLUSIONS: TEAS treatment and drug treatment can effectively alleviate mild to moderate pain in patients, and the efficacy of these two groups is similar. The treatment for moderate and severe pain needs to be combined with drug treatment to achieve a control effect. TEAS can improve the anxiety and immune function of patients, and prevent the decrease in B cells and CD8 in patients treated with drugs alone.