Positive Health Online

Abstract

XIN and COLLEAGUES,  (1)Nursing Department, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical  Sciences, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030032, Shanxi, China; (2)Comprehensive Medical Department, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College; Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.  Electronic address: 875071029@qq.com .(3)Nursing Department, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong  University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China. Electronic  address: 3049194186@qq.com .conducted a study   aiming to investigate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupressure to improve sleep quality in breast cancer patients to investigate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupressure to improve sleep quality in breast cancer patients

Background

Sleep disturbance is a very common problem among breast cancer patients, and auricular acupressure is a non-pharmacologic intervention to improve the sleep quality. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of auricular acupressure to improve sleep quality in breast cancer patients.

Methodology

Overall, 8 electronic databases in English and Chinese were  systematically searched from inception to August 12, 2023 to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The risk of bias was assessed by version 2  of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2.0).

Results

A total of 16 studies with 1199 participants were included. The synthesized results showed that compared with the control group, auricular acupressure had a significant effect on improving the effective rate of sleep quality improvement in patients with breast cancer (risk ratio [RR] 1.56, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.14 to 2.14; P < 0.001), and that significantly reduced the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global score (mean difference [MD] -3.47, 95 % CI -4.37 to -2.58; P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis of effective rate and PSQI score showed similar significant effects. Additionally, the improvement of sleep quality was better when auricular acupressure was performed by nurses using Vaccaria seeds. Furthermore, the optimal intervention program was performed 1-2 times a day, 3-5 min each time, and lasted for 2-4 weeks.

Conclusion

Auricular acupressure may effectively improve the sleep quality of patients with breast cancer. However, more rigorously designed, large-sample, multi-center RCTs are required to further validate the results. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

Xin D(1), Cui L(1), Wang L(1), Zhang Q(1), Chen X(1), Shi Y(1), Zhu W(1), Xu N(1), Li W(2), Wang Y(3). Effect of auricular acupressure on sleep quality in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complement Ther Clin Pract ;57:101876. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2024.101876.  Epub Jun 9. 2024 Nov 2024.