Effect of point 6 acupressure on chemotherapy associated nausea and vomiting among adolescents with cancer

Abstract

Background: Despite the development of effective antiemetic drugs, nausea and vomiting continue to be the primaryside effects associated with the usage of chemotherapy among adolescent with cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of using acupressure Point 6 (P6) on reducing nausea and vomiting in cancer adolescents undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: A quasi experimental study was conducted at pediatric inpatients and outpatient departments of Mansoura oncology center. 60 cancer adolescents receiving chemotherapy was selected using a convenience sample and divided equally into experimental group who receive antiemetic plus an acupressure P6 intervention and control group who receive antiemetic only. The tool designed for the study comprised of: sciodemographical data and clinical data from medical record. Rhodes Index of Nausea and Vomiting scale was used to measure the severity, frequency and duration of nausea, vomiting and retching.

Results: There was a decrease in the total mean score of nausea, vomiting and retching in study group compared to control group with a statistical significant difference between both group regarding its frequency, severity and duration. Also more than one third of the study group (40%) view that acupressure P6 is moderately effective, 33.3% of them show it effective in using while only 26.7% stated that it is slightly effective.

Conclusions: The results of this study showed that acupressure has a significant role in the reduction of nausea, vomiting and retching associated with chemotherapy among adolescents with cancer, and use of this non-pharmacologic technique for oncology nurses is suggested.