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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Oct 1;25(10):3421-3428.
doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.10.3421.

Acupressure On Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting among Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Alwin Issac  1 , Shalini Ganesh Nayak  2 , Kurvatteppa Halemani  1 , Prabhakar Mishra  3 , Gyan Chand  4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Acupressure On Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting among Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Alwin Issac et al. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. .

Abstract

Background: Nausea and vomiting are one of the common and distressing side effects of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients often impacting their quality of life and treatment adherence. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine whether acupressure is effective in treating breast cancer patients' acute nausea and vomiting brought on by chemotherapy as well as delayed nausea and vomiting.

Methods: We systematically searched for Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies in PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Clinical Key, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus. Based on the inclusion criteria two reviewers independently identified the articles using key thesaurus and free text terms. The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement.

Results: According to the pooled findings, acupressure combined with antiemetics greatly lessens the severity of acute nausea [SMD, (95% CI)] [-0.35(-0.62,-0.08), P=0.01, I2=0%], delayed nausea [SMD, (95% CI)] [-0.52(-0.78,-0.26), P<0.001, I2=16%], and delayed vomiting [SMD, (95% CI)] [-0.46(- 0.83,-0.08), P=0.02, I2=43%] brought on by chemotherapy.

Conclusion: For chemotherapy-treated breast cancer patients, acupressure is a helpful complementary therapy for easing nausea and vomiting.

Keywords: Breast Neoplasms; Nausea; Vomiting; acupressure; complementary therapies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow Chart of Study Selection
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of Bias Summary of the Included Studies
Figure 3.1
Figure 3.1
Severity of acute nanusea
Figure 3.2
Figure 3.2
Severity of acute of vomiting
Figure 3.3
Figure 3.3
Severity of delayed nanusea
Figure 3.4
Figure 3.4
Severity of delayed vomiting
Figure 3.5
Figure 3.5
Frequency of acute nanusea
Figure 3.6
Figure 3.6
Frequency of acute vomiting
Figure 3.7
Figure 3.7
Frequency of delayed vomiting
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