The effectiveness of acupressure on fatigue and objective data in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy

• Main Authors: Wan Jung Chen, 陳琬蓉
• Other Authors: W. R. Tang
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/04429200322683230348

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 護理學系 === 100 === Fatigue is a normal symptom of lung cancer patients under chemotherapy. This study used the acupressure treatment method for intervention to discuss its effect on the fatigue control of lung patients under chemotherapy and medical check values (e.g. hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cell, and tumor size). This study used the experimental study design of randomized, double-blind and repeated measures with samples of lung cancer patients diagnosed by a medical center in northern Taiwan. The patients met the sampling criteria and who were willing to participate in the study were divided into the experimental group (16 patients: receiving pure acupressure) and the control group (14 patients: receiving sham acupressure). It was a double-blind experiment, thus, neither the subjects nor the research assistants knew the group distribution. The experimental group started to receive the acupressure treatment of three acupuncture points, namely Hegu, Zusanli and Sanyingjiao, from the first day of chemotherapy treatment. The control group received the rotational acupressure treatment of three sham acupuncture points of metacarpal bone, the patella and ankle for one minute each day for two months. The first acupressure treatment was personally conducted by the researcher to teach how to accurately find the acupuncture points and press correctly. Meanwhile, the researcher invited subjects to demonstrate what they learnt to ensure that they could correctly press the acupuncture points after the chemotherapy, and then the subjects conducted acupressure according to the provided dosage. The research process was divided into two parts: 1) before first chemotherapy treatment and the third chemotherapy cycle, TFRS (Tang Fatigue Rating Scale) was used to collect the fatigue changes before and after chemotherapy; the change in the medical check values during the above time period of the subject was inquired by medical record inspection; 2) from the first day to the fourth day of the chemotherapy of the subjects, the single VAS-F (Visual Analysis Scale-Fatigue) was used to collect the fatigue perception of the patients to understand the change in the level of fatigue of the patients under chemotherapy. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Head accurate verification, the generalized estimating equation and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The results suggested that, acupressure can significantly improve the fatigue level of lung cancer patients. In acupressure for improving the the medical check value of lung cancer patients, White blood cells and tumor size reduced significantly , however, there was no changed in hemoglobin and hematocrit. It is expected that the findings of this study can provide a reference to medical personnel in improving the fatigue level of the lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.