Effect of acupressure of Ex-Le7 point on pain, nausea and vomiting after appendectomy: A randomized trial

BACKGROUND The Le7 acupoint had been known as an acupoint for reducing pain of appendicitis. However, no study on the effect of its acupressure on post-appendectomy pain is available. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupressure of Le7 acupoint on pain, nausea, and vomiting after appendectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted on 70 post-appendectomy patients in a general surgical ward. Patients with inclusion criteria were selected consecutively and were randomly assigned into two groups. The intervention group received acupressure to the Le7 acupoint and the second group was the control group. The severity of post-operative pain, nausea, and vomiting measured hourly till the seventh post-operative hour. T-test was used to compare the mean of pain and nausea severity of two groups. Paired t-test was used to compare the mean of pain intensity of each group before and total mean of pain at post-intervention hours. Chi-squared test and Fisher exact test were used for nominal data. RESULTS The mean of pain intensity in the intervention group was 5.10 ± 3.52 before intervention and decreased to 3.53 ± 0.75 in the post-operative hours (P = 0.018). The mean of pain intensity in the control group was 4.45 ± 3.16 before intervention and changed to 4.01 ± 0.92 in the post-operative hours (P = 0.32). However, the mean of pain intensity in the intervention group was less than the control group till 6(th) h after the surgery. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of nausea and vomiting (P = 0.74). CONCLUSION Acupressure on Le7 acupoint was effective on post-appendectomy pain but did not affect nausea and vomiting. Further investigations are suggested with starting acupressure at the onset of pain or nausea and vomiting.