Efficacy of acupressure on nausea and vomiting among children with leukemia following chemotherapy

Abstract

Background/Objective: Nausea and vomiting (N&V) remain the main side effects associated with cancer chemotherapy. This study determines the effect of acupressure on the control of N&V among children with leukemia receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: This quasi-experiment study was conducted at two Pediatric Oncology Departments in South Egypt. Two groups of children with leukemia aging 6-18 years were included from October 2017 till March 2018. The study group (n = 60) received acupressure, while the control group (n = 60) didn’t. All were subjected to socio-demographic and clinical interview questionnaire and Rhodes Index for N&V Likert scale for assessment of frequency, duration, stress and severity of nausea and vomiting.

Results: Both groups had similar demographic data, were similar in diagnosis, disease severity, family history of neoplasia, and experienced similar chemotherapy-related side effects. Significant reduction of frequency, distress and severity of nausea and frequency, duration and severity of vomiting in addition to mean scores N\&V scale among children of the study group after application of acupressure when compared to children in the control group.

Conclusions: The application of acupressure at P6 in children with acute leukemia who were receiving chemotherapy led to significant reduction in the mean scores of N&V in addition to their frequency, duration and severity within 48 hours from the beginning of chemotherapy in comparison to the control group. Therefore, acupressure techniques showed be used to reduce chemotherapy induced N&V in children with leukemia.