Lee, J., Dibble, S., Dodd, M., Abrams, D., & Burns, B. (2010). The relationship of chemotherapy-induced nausea to the frequency of pericardium 6 digital acupressure. Oncology Nursing Forum, 37, E419–E425.
To explain the relationship between the intensity of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and the frequency of P6 digital acupressure in a group of patients with breast cancer who received moderately to highly emetogenic chemotherapy and applied P6 digital acupressure as an additional intervention for CINV control.
This was a secondary analysis of a multicenter, longitudinal, randomized, clinical trial that compared differences in CINV among three groups (P6 acupressure, placebo digital acupressure, and usual care). The original study was published in 2007.
Patients in the group receiving P6 acupressure in the parent study were instructed to perform digital acupressure for three minutes or point release at the P6 points on both arms in the morning plus an additional three minutes of acupressure to one arm whenever nausea occurred. Secondary analysis was conducted of this group’s data from the patient information questionnaire and daily log.
This was a multisite study conducted at 15 different sites in the United States.
All patients were in active treatment.
The study was design was a descriptive secondary analysis.
Nausea intensity was not found to be consistently related to frequency of acupressure use.
Types and dosages of antiemetics used were not described.
Based on the results of the parent study and the indepth secondary analysis of the acupressure group, patients with CINV may benefit from P6 acupressure throughout the first 11 days after chemotherapy. Because each patient is different, individualized patient teaching and resources for managing CINV are important.