STUDY PROTOCOL article
Front. Med.
Sec. Intensive Care Medicine and Anesthesiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1603543
Effect of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Postoperative Liver Function in Patients Undergoing Partial Hepatectomy: A Study Protocol for a Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial
Provisionally accepted
Yuanyuan Wang1Zhengxiu Sun1Yongao Lin1Mingshu Tao1Wenxin Zhao1Jinling Liu1Xiaoqin Guo1Chuyu Hang1Mingyuan Wang1Wen Tan1Xingyu Xiong1
Jun-li Cao1*
He Liu2*- 1Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
- 2Department of Anesthesiology, Huzhou Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine & Huzhou Central Hospital, Huzhou, China
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Background Partial hepatectomy remains a primary therapeutic intervention for various hepatic diseases. However, several intraoperative factors, including surgical manipulation, substantial blood loss, the need for blood transfusions, and hypoxic stress, can significantly impair liver function. Current perioperative strategies aimed at protecting the liver exhibit certain limitations. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), an emerging non-invasive neuromodulation technique, has demonstrated potential in preserving organ function through vagus nerve-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This study is designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effects of taVNS on liver function in patients undergoing elective partial hepatectomy under general anesthesia.In this single-center, prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 140 patients scheduled for partial hepatectomy will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either the transcutaneous auricular active-taVNS or sham taVNS groups. Both groups will receive 60-minute stimulation sessions at four predefined time points: (1) at the onset of the first hepatic portal occlusion, (2) post-extubation, (3) on postoperative day 1 (6:00-7:00 AM), and (4) on postoperative day 2 (6:00-7:00 AM). The primary outcome is alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level
Keywords: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, Partial hepatectomy, Perioperative hepatoprotection, Neural modulation, organ protection
Received: 02 May 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Sun, Lin, Tao, Zhao, Liu, Guo, Hang, Wang, Tan, Xiong, Cao 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:
Jun-li Cao, 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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