Clinical trial NCT05884450: The Effect of Acupressure on the Management of Dyspnea
Official title: The Effect of Acupressure on the Management of Dyspnea in Palliative Care Patients
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Palliative Care
Dyspnea
Keywords: Acupressure
Palliative Care
Dyspnea
Nursing
Lead sponsor: Istanbul Aydın University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-06-01
Enrollment: 140
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Randomized controlled experimental study
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: Dyspnea can develop at any stage of the disease, but it is more common in the last period of life.

Complementary and integrative methods used for dyspnea symptoms include acupuncture, acupressure, visualization techniques, herbal treatments, nutritional supplements, stress management, relaxation techniques, exercise, breathing training and psychotherapy, etc. There are studies in the literature showing that acupuncture and acupressure are effective in controlling dyspnea symptoms in various disease groups.

Acupressure is an integrated method of applying physical pressure to acupuncture points on the body surface with hands, elbows or various tools. With good counseling, patients can apply this method, which is non-invasive, easy to apply, and safe.

Reducing the psychological stress that causes dyspnea along with dyspnea is important for symptom management. It has been reported that acupressure application has significant effects especially in dyspnea that develops with exertion. It is seen that studies on the subject are not sufficient in terms of quantity and quality in terms of giving advice to patients, and there is a need for well-planned studies with high power.

The aim of this study; The aim of this study is to determine the effect of acupressure applied to three acupuncture points (Lu1, Lu10, P6) on the arm and chest in palliative care patients with dyspnea on dyspnea level and quality of life, twice a day for 4 weeks, for 3 minutes to each point.

Detailed description: Dyspnea can develop at any stage of the disease, but it is more common in the last period of life (1). In different studies, the incidence of dyspnea in patients receiving palliative care with the diagnosis of lung cancer was reported to be 57-90%, 60% in esophageal cancer, and 46% in breast cancer (1-5). In a study, it was shown that 65% of palliative care patients died with dyspnea in the last three months of their lives (6). There may be many reasons that trigger the development of dyspnea in palliative care patients. In addition to primary or metastatic lung involvement, antineoplastic therapy, thoracic irradiation, obstruction caused by mediastinal tumor, pleural effusion and pulmonary embolism may also cause dyspnea. In addition, dyspnea in these patients may be due to existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary embolism, hepatomegaly, acidity, anemia that can affect the patient's respiration, cachexia, anxiety, or thoracic surgery (7). Regardless of the cause, as a result, dyspnea is one of the important complaints that negatively affects the patient's quality of life and reminds patients of death. Since dyspnea is a multifaceted subjective condition that affects the patient physiologically, psychologically, socially and environmentally, comprehensive diagnosis and early planning of effective approaches in its management are important for patients to complete a good palliative care process (8-10).

Complementary and integrative methods used for dyspnea symptoms include acupuncture, acupressure, visualization techniques, herbal treatments, nutritional supplements, stress management, relaxation techniques, exercise, breathing training and psychotherapy, etc. (11,12) There are studies in the literature showing that acupuncture and acupressure are effective in controlling dyspnea symptoms in various disease groups (13,14).

Acupressure is an integrated method of applying physical pressure to acupuncture points on the body surface with hands, elbows or various tools. With good counseling, patients can apply this method, which is non-invasive, easy to apply, and safe (13).

Reducing the psychological stress that causes dyspnea along with dyspnea is important for symptom management (10). It has been reported that acupressure application has significant effects especially in dyspnea that develops with exertion (14). It is seen that studies on the subject are not sufficient in terms of quantity and quality in terms of giving advice to patients, and there is a need for well-planned studies with high power.

The aim of this study; The aim of this study is to determine the effect of acupressure applied to three acupuncture points (Lu1, Lu10, P6) on the arm and chest in palliative care patients with dyspnea on dyspnea level and quality of life, twice a day for 4 weeks, for 3 minutes to each point.

Method:

Purpose and Type of Study: The aim of the study, which will be conducted in randomized controlled parallel group, experimental research design type, is to determine the effect of acupressure on dyspnea level and quality of life in palliative care patients with dyspnea symptoms.

Variables of the Study Independent Variable: Socioeconomic and disease-related characteristics (age, gender, diagnosis, length of hospital stay, etc.).

Dependent Variable: Quality of Life, level of dyspnea, vital signs. Intervention to be Implemented In the experimental group, acupressure will be applied to the patients by the researchers twice a day, every day for two weeks, for 3 minutes to each point (Lu1, Lu10, P6). No application will be made to the control group. Respiratory rate, rhythm, blood pressure, heart rate and Borg Scale Score will be evaluated and recorded for 14 days before and after acupressure application. On the 7th and 14th days, the FACIT - Pal (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Palliative care) Quality of Life Scale will be filled again.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years or older,
* Least literate,
* Patients with moderate to severe dyspnea (with dyspnea score of 3 or higher on a 0-10 scale in the Modified Borg Scale evaluation) will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Refusal to participate in the study
* Finding a communication problem

Primary outcomes:
measure: Patient Descriptive Information Form:
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 2nd day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 3th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 4th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 5th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 6th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 7th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 8th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 9th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 10th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 11th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 12th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 13th day
measure: Change Modified Borg Scale (MBS)
timeFrame: 14th day
measure: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Palliative Care (FACIT - Pal)
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Change Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Palliative Care (FACIT - Pal)
timeFrame: 7th Day
measure: Change Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Palliative Care (FACIT - Pal)
timeFrame: 14th Day
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Istanbul
country: Turkey
facility: Dilek Yildirim
state: Küçükçekmece
Study officials:
References: