Effect of acupuncture anesthesia based on nanomaterial sensor on cognitive function after one-lung ventilation thoracotomy

In this work, a new type of nanomaterial sensing acupuncture needle was developed to improve patient comfort and treatment effectiveness. Based on the convenient electrochemical casting process, multilayer nano-tapered holes were constructed on the needle surface to form a porous nano-sensing acupuncture needle (PNAN), which further increases the interface area of the acupuncture needle. To evaluate the effect of PNAN-induced anesthesia on cognitive function after one-lung ventilation and thoracotomy, 60 patients with esophageal cancer undergoing thoracotomy were randomly divided into an acupuncture-induced anesthesia (AIA) group and a conventional anesthesia (CA) group. The recovery time for cognitive function and the incidence of cognitive impairment in the PNAN-induced anesthesia group after one-lung ventilation and thoracotomy were significantly lower than those of the CA group ( P < 0.05). The scores from the Mini Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) for the AIA group were lower than the preoperative scores and were better than those for the CA group ( P < 0.05). In addition, after one-lung ventilation and thoracotomy, the concentrations of cytokines and catecholamines (CAs) in both groups were lower than the preoperative values, and the levels of cytokines and CAs in the AIA group were significantly lower than those of the CA group. Therefore, acupuncture anesthesia based on a nanomaterial sensor can significantly improve the cognitive function of patients after one-lung ventilation and thoracotomy, inhibit inflammatory factors, and provide an optimal curative effect.