Objective To observe the analgesia effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian （内麻点 Extra） after abdominal surgery. Methods One hundred and twenty patients with routine abdominal surgery were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a medication group, 60 cases in each group. The acupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at Neimadian （内麻点 Extra）, which was located on the medial side of lower leg, 7 cun above the medial malleolus and about 0.5 cun from post edge of tibia. The medication group was treated with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia （PCIA） with Sufentanil. After the treatment, the Visual Analogue Scale （VAS）, the security, the analgesic effect and plasma β-endorphin content in the two groups were compared.Results The postoperative VAS scores at 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h in the acupuncture group were lower than those in the medication group （all P〈0.05）. The analgesic effects at 2, 4, 16 and 24 h after surgery in the acupuncture group were superior to those in the medication group （P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. The plasma β-endorphin contents at 0, 8, 16 and 48 h after surgery in both groups were increased, and the acupuncture group was superior to the medication group （all P〈0.05）. The security class after surgery in the acupuncture group was higher than that in the medication group （P〈0.05）. Two cases in acupuncture group stopped treatment due to overstress and fear of needling, 24 cases in medication group presented adverse reactions, among them, 3 cases stopped the treatment due to nausea, vomiting. Conclusion The analgesic effect and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian （内麻点 Extra） after abdominal surgery are superior to those of the PCIA with Sufentanil.
