Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a novel non-invasive neuromodulation technique. Existing evidence suggested that taVNS improves pain management, sleep quality, inflammatory responses, and gastrointestinal recovery after surgery. This study is designed to test the hypothesis that perioperative use of taVNS may improve quality of recovery in patients after major noncardiac surgery.
Aged ≥18 years but <85 years.
Scheduled for elective or limited-time noncardiac surgery with expected duration ≥2 hours.
Lesions or infections of the auricle skin.
Recent or long-term use of cholinergic or anticholinergic medications.
Neurosurgery.
Expected mechanical ventilation with intubation for ≥1 day after surgery.