Baseline Characteristics
bile duct cancer, esophageal cancer, ovarian cancer, OIC, osteosarcoma cancer, cancer, bone cancer, ureter cancer, watery, constipation, pain, testis cancer, soft-tissue sarcoma cancer, lymphoid cancer, kidney cancer, prostate cancer, NRS, Constipation
BILE DUCT CANCER, OVARIAN CANCER, GALLBLADDER CANCER, OESOPHAGEAL CANCER, CANCER, BONE CANCER, URETER CANCER, BLADDER CANCER, TONGUE CANCER, PENIS CANCER, ONCOLOGY, KIDNEY CANCER, PROSTATE CANCER
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); CSBM, complete spontaneous bowel movement; ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; NRS, Numerical Rating Scale; OIC, opioid-induced constipation; PAC-QOL, Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life; PAC-SYM, Patient Assessment of Constipation–Symptoms; SBM, spontaneous bowel movement.Values for ECOG performance status range from 0 to 5; higher scores indicate greater disability.Other types of cancer in the electroacupuncture group include kidney cancer (2 cases) and bile duct cancer, testis cancer, bone cancer, lymphoid cancer, ovarian cancer, tongue cancer, and esophageal cancer (1 case of each type). Other types of cancer in the sham electroacupuncture group include prostate cancer (3 cases); lymphoid cancer (2 cases); and gallbladder cancer, bile duct cancer, soft-tissue sarcoma cancer, osteosarcoma cancer, ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, penis cancer, bladder cancer, and ureter cancer (1 case of each type).Other opioids administered include fentanyl (3 in the electroacupuncture group and 2 in the sham group), hydrocodone (1 in each treatment group), tramadol (11 in the electroacupuncture group and 1 in the sham group), and codeine (1 in the sham group).Oral morphine equivalent.Scores range from 1 to 7: 1 = separate, hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass); 2 = sausage-shaped but lumpy; 3 = like a sausage or snake but with cracks on its surface; 4 = like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft; 5 = soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily); 6 = fluffy pieces with ragged edges or a mushy stool; 7 = watery, no solid pieces (entirely liquid).Scores range from 0 to 4; higher scores indicate more severe straining during defecation.PAC-SYM scores are based on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4; lower scores indicate better quality of life.PAC-QOL scores are based on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4; lower scores indicate better quality of life.Data were based on patients with treatments for OIC in the previous week.Manual maneuvers to facilitate defecations (1 in the sham electroacupuncture group) and Chinese herbs (3 in each group).The NRS is an 11-point scale from 0 to 10; 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the maximum pain imaginable.The mean (SD) number of treatment sessions was 21.7 (4.1) in the EA group and 21.0 (6.2) in the SA group; 44 of 50 patients (88.0%) in the EA group and 52 of 50 (84.0%) in the SA group received at least 20 (≥83.3%) sessions of treatment (eTable 3 in 