BACKGROUND: Post-operative nausea and vomiting is a common complication following general anaesthesia. Traditional Chinese medicine indicates that acupressure therapy may reduce nausea and vomiting in certain ailments. AIM(S) OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of stimulating two acupressure points on prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting. DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized block experimental design was used. The Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) questionnaire was used as a tool to measure incidence. To control the motion sickness variable, the subjects who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned to a finger-pressing group, a wrist-band group, and a control group. There were 150 subjects in total with each group consisting of 50 subjects. The acupoints and treatment times were similar in the finger-pressing group and wrist-band pressing group, whereas only conversation was employed in the control group. RESULTS: Significant differences in the incidence of the post-operative nausea and vomiting were found between the acupressure, wrist-band, and control groups, with a reduction in the incidence rate of nausea from 73.0% to 43.2% and vomiting incidence rate from 90.5% to 42.9% in the former. The amount of vomitus and the degree of discomfort were, respectively, less and lower in the former group. CONCLUSION: In view of the total absence of side-effects in acupressure, its application is worthy of use. This study confirmed the effectiveness of acupressure in preventing post-operative nausea and vomiting.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Post-operative nausea and vomiting is a common complication following general anaesthesia. Traditional Chinese medicine indicates that acupressure therapy may reduce nausea and vomiting in certain ailments. AIM(S) OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of stimulating two acupressure points on prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting. DESIGN AND METHODS: A randomized block experimental design was used. The Rhodes Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching (INVR) questionnaire was used as a tool to measure incidence. To control the motion sickness variable, the subjects who underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned to a finger-pressing group, a wrist-band group, and a control group. There were 150 subjects in total with each group consisting of 50 subjects. The acupoints and treatment times were similar in the finger-pressing group and wrist-band pressing group, whereas only conversation was employed in the control group. RESULTS: Significant differences in the incidence of the post-operative nausea and vomiting were found between the acupressure, wrist-band, and control groups, with a reduction in the incidence rate of nausea from 73.0% to 43.2% and vomiting incidence rate from 90.5% to 42.9% in the former. The amount of vomitus and the degree of discomfort were, respectively, less and lower in the former group. CONCLUSION: In view of the total absence of side-effects in acupressure, its application is worthy of use. This study confirmed the effectiveness of acupressure in preventing post-operative nausea and vomiting.