HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article
Front. Med.
Sec. Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1588850
This article is part of the Research TopicExpanding Therapeutic Horizons with Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve StimulationView all 8 articles
New Intervention Strategy for Postoperative Fatigue Syndrome in Elderly Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Clinical Hypothesis Study Based on Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Provisionally accepted
Xuefeng Yin1Shuang Qiao1
Zhang Ling1Zhonghua Li1
Qin Zhang1Yu Shen1Keyu Fan1Mingxia Liu1
王 东旭1Ya Cao1Yuxuan Zhang1Lu Qian1Danru Wu1Jingqiu Wei2*Ying Yang3*
He Liu1*- 1Department of Anesthesiology, Huzhou Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine & Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, China
- 2Department of Education and Training, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, China
- 3Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
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Postoperative fatigue syndrome (POFS) comprises symptoms including fatigue, insomnia, inattention, depression, tension, and anxiety following surgery. These manifestations encompass exhaustion, weakness, malaise, and emotional disturbances, impacting hospital stay duration, quality of life, rehabilitation progress, and work performance. While the etiology of POFS remains complex, recent evidence suggests that external stimuli may induce pro-inflammatory cytokine release, leading to fatigue. Surgical procedures trigger an inflammatory reaction that stimulates the nervous system, generating fatigue symptoms. Both animal and human studies demonstrate that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production by activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP). Considering the pivotal role of inflammation in the development of POFS and the vagus nerve's capacity to modulate inflammatory responses, we hypothesize that transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) holds significant potential for alleviating POFS in elderly patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. In this paper, we propose a hypothetical scheme to validate this hypothesis through the application of taVNS in future clinical studies.
Keywords: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, Postoperative fatigue syndrome, Cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, postoperative recovery, colorectal cancer
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yin, Qiao, Ling, Li, Zhang, Shen, Fan, Liu, 东旭, Cao, Zhang, Qian, Wu, Wei, Yang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jingqiu Wei, Department of Education and Training, Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, China
Ying Yang, Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
He Liu, Department of Anesthesiology, Huzhou Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine & Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, China
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