Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug 27;21(1):751.
doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04693-5.

Acupressure therapy and Liu Zi Jue Qigong for pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Shuaipan Zhang  1 , Qingguang Zhu  1 , Chao Zhan  2 , Wei Cheng  2 , Xiao Mingfang  2 , Min Fang  3   4 , Lei Fang  5   6
Affiliations

Acupressure therapy and Liu Zi Jue Qigong for pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Shuaipan Zhang et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: In December 2019, pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China. The number of cases has increased rapidly. Patients with severe disease have a poor prognosis, and there are no effective therapies for COVID-19. Only rapid advice guidelines for symptomatic supportive care have been used. A traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation (TCMR) program consisting of acupressure therapy and Liu Zi Jue Qigong can be used as a complementary therapy for COVID-19. Hence, we designed a randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy and advantages of TCMR for treating patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods/design: This is a parallel-design, two-arm, analyst assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 128 patients with COVID-19 aged from 20 to 80 years will be recruited and assigned randomly into a guideline therapy group and a guideline therapy plus TCMR group at a 1:1 ratio. Patients in both groups will receive guideline therapy. The patients in the intervention group will perform acupressure therapy and Liu Zi Jue Qigong exercises in addition to conventional treatments twice a day and will be persistent from admission to discharge. The primary outcome will be measured with the Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale, and the secondary outcomes will include the Activities of Daily Living Barthel Index Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Scale, and the Respiratory Symptoms Scale. The assessments of the clinical scales will be performed at three points (before treatment, the 7th day during hospitalization, and the discharge day). Adverse events will be noted and recorded for the safety evaluation.

Discussion: This trial will provide high-quality evidence of the value of TCMR, which consists of acupressure therapy and Liu Zi Jue Qigong exercises, for treating patients with severe COVID-19.

Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000029994 . Registered on 18 February 2020.

Keywords: Acupressure therapy; COVID-19; Liu Zi Jue Qigong; Randomized controlled trial; Study protocol; Traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the trial
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Study schedule showing the time points for enrollment and assessment. ADL, activities of daily living; CRF, case report form; CT, computed tomographic; mMRC, modified Medical Research Council; PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; RS, respiratory symptoms; TCMR, traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Acupressure operation
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The basic seven movements of the exercise
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet (London, England) 2020;395(10223):470–473. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30185-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. New Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization home page. 2020. https://covid19.who.int/. Assessed 27 May 2020.
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet (London, England). 2020;395(10223):497–506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yang X, Yu Y, Xu J, Shu H, Xia J, Liu H, et al. Clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a single-centered, retrospective, observational study. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8(5):475–81. 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30079-5. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources