Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Acupressure for chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting in children.
The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of acupressure therapy in preventing chemotherapy-associated nausea in children. A prospective, randomized, crossover trial was conducted among pediatric oncology patients at Brenner Children's Hospital (Winston-Salem, NC). Patients were randomized to one of two treatment sequences involving acupressure wrist bands and placebo bands, separated by a standard care treatment with no bands. ⋯ There was no significant difference in nausea or vomiting between the three groups; there were no significant side effects from acupressure or placebo bands. Pediatric oncology patients have moderate expectations about the effectiveness of acupressure in preventing nausea and vomiting. Acupressure is feasible and well tolerated but was not more effective than placebo in this sample of patients who were also treated with standard antiemetic therapies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Impact of massage therapy on anxiety levels in patients undergoing radiation therapy: randomized controlled trial.
Anxiety is a major issue in the cancer patient population. This randomized phase III trial evaluated the effects of massage therapy on anxiety levels in patients undergoing radiation therapy. Patients undergoing radiation therapy were randomly assigned to either 10 massage sessions or control sessions. ⋯ Furthermore, no difference was observed between the groups' respective state-anxiety scores after the 10 sessions. Massage therapy is associated with a significant, immediate decrease in anxiety scores. However, massage therapy appears to have no major impact on intermediate-term anxiety in patients undergoing radiation therapy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Exploratory analysis of the usefulness of acupressure bands when severe chemotherapy-related nausea is expected.
The present study examines the efficacy of acupressure wristbands, compared with standard care alone and acustimulation wristbands, in preventing severe nausea among 86 breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin-based chemotherapy who were at high risk of experiencing severe nausea following treatment. Significant differences in the proportion of patients who reported severe nausea were observed across three conditions (standard care, standard care with acupressure bands, and standard care with an acustimulation band). The proportion of patients in the acupressure band group who reported severe nausea following their chemotherapy treatment (41%) was significantly less than that of the standard care group (68%) and the acustimulation band group (73%). Overall, these findings showed that acupressure wristbands were efficacious and may be an appropriate form of adjuvant therapy for nausea management for breast cancer patients, especially those who are most at risk for experiencing severe nausea following chemotherapy treatment.