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Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Preventing Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass

NCT07549243 · Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 152

Last updated 2026-05-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass, leading to longer hospital stays and worse outcomes. Effective preventive therapies are lacking.

This randomized controlled trial investigates whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS)-a non-invasive ear stimulation technique-can reduce AKI after cardiac surgery. A total of 152 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass will be randomly assigned to receive either taVNS or sham stimulation. The intervention begins before surgery and continues daily through postoperative day 5.

The primary outcome is the incidence of AKI within 7 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes include AKI severity, need for dialysis, kidney function recovery, complications, and inflammatory biomarkers.

This study is approved by the institutional ethics committee. All participants will provide written informed consent.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Participants in this arm receive active transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (ta-VNS) using the tVNS501 device. Stimulation is delivered to the left cymba conchae (auricular branch of the vagus nerve) with the following parameters: frequency 25 Hz, pulse width 250 µs, 30 seconds on / 30 seconds off cycling. Intensity is adjusted starting from 0.4 V and increased in 0.4 V increments until the participant perceives mild discomfort, then reduced to the highest tolerable non-painful level. The intervention begins on the day of surgery (from the preoperative holding area through 6 hours postoperatively in the ICU) and continues on postoperative days 1 through 5 with two 120-minute sessions per day (at 9:00 and 14:00). The device is applied by trained non-blinded operators.

DEVICE

Sham Stimulation

Participants in this arm receive sham stimulation using the same tVNS501 device. Electrodes are placed on the left cymba conchae following the same procedure as the active group, but no electrical current is delivered. The stimulation settings are displayed on the device to maintain blinding, but the output is turned off. The schedule and duration of device application are identical to those in the active stimulation group.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-04-27
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2027-05-01

Countries

  • China

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07549243 on ClinicalTrials.gov