Original Article
The Efficacy of Acupressure and Acustimulation Wrist Bands for the Relief of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program Multicenter Study

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Abstract

As an adjunct to standard antiemetics for the relief of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (NV), 739 patients were randomly assigned to either: 1) acupressure bands, 2) an acustimulation band, or 3) a no band control condition. Patients in the acupressure condition experienced less nausea on the day of treatment compared to controls (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in delayed nausea or vomiting among the three treatment conditions. Additional analyses revealed pronounced gender differences. Men in the acustimulation condition, but not the acupressure condition, had less NV compared to controls (P<0.05). No significant differences among the three treatment conditions were observed in women, although the reduction in nausea on the day of treatment in the acupressure, compared to the no band condition, closely approached statistical significance (P = 0.052). Expected efficacy of the bands was related to outcomes for the acupressure but not the acustimulation conditions.

Keywords

Acupressure
acustimulation
nausea
vomiting
chemotherapy
response expectancy

Cited by (0)

Supported by grant U10CA 37420 from the National Cancer Institute. The wrist bands were provided either free or at reduced costs by their respective companies.