Electroacupuncture is a medical procedure that is applied during and after surgery to prevent perioperative neurocognitive disorder – a condition where elderly patients experience poor memory and difficulty thinking after surgery under general anesthesia. The study analyzed 26 randomized controlled trials with a total of 2,309 patients aged 60 years and older. The results showed that electroacupuncture significantly reduced the incidence of this disorder to less than half compared to the control groups (by 53 percent). Patients who received electroacupuncture scored better on the Mini-Mental State Examination, which assesses cognitive function. Electroacupuncture also reduced blood inflammatory markers (interleukin-6, interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α) and markers of neurological damage. Adverse effects were rare and electroacupuncture proved to be a safe method. However, the authors point out that the evidence is limited by methodological shortcomings and that further well-designed studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness.