Effect of acupressure on management of dyspnea and quality of life in palliative care patients

Abstract

Background and purpose: Management of dyspnea is important in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of acupressure on dyspnea level and quality of life in palliative care patients with dyspnea symptoms. Material and Methods: This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted with 57 experimental and 58 control patients hospitalized in the palliative care unit between May 2023 and January 2024. Data were collected using the Modified Borg Scale (MBS), and FACIT-Pal (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative care) Quality of Life Scale. In the study, acupressure was applied to the dyspnea acupressure points (Lu1, Lu10, P6) for 3 minutes, twice a day, every day for 14 days in the experimental group. Standard care was administered as control. Results: In the study, when the MBS scores of the patients in both groups were compared, it was found that the MBS score of the experimental group after acupressure application on Day 1 (4.553± 1.189 vs. 5.224±1.351), Day 7 (3.907±1.211 vs. 5.581±1.074) and Day 14 (3.048± .973 vs. 5.357±.983) was statistically significantly lower than the control group (p<0.001). In addition, when the MBS scores of the experimental group were compared before and after acupressure within the group on Days 1, 7 and 14, it was determined that there was a statistically significant decrease (p<0.001). In the study, it was found that the FACT-PAL scores of the experi mental group were higher than the control group on Day 14 (137.583±13.627 vs. 123.333±10.116, p=0.006). On Day 14, the respiratory rate of the experimental group after acupressure application was statistically significantly lower than the control group (21.365±3.652 vs. 23.166±4.477). Conclusions: The results of this study show that acupressure reduces vital signs (oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure), dyspnea, and improves quality of life in palliative care patients.