Effect of Acupressure on Gastric Content Aspiration in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Hospitalized in Intensive Care Units

Background and Objectives: Aspiration is a serious complication that occurs due to delayed gastric emptying in mechanically ventilated patients. Aspiration results in increased rate of pneumonia and death. Acupressure can increase gastric motility and prevent aspiration. This study aimed to determine the effect of acupressure on occurrence of gastric content aspiration in mechanically ventilated patients hospitalized in intensive care units. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 78 patients hospitalized in the intensive care units of educational hospitals of Zanjan were recruited using convenience sampling method during 2012-2013. Patients were randomly allocated into two intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, acupressure wristbands were placed on the Neiguan point of both hands of the patients for four days. Aspiration was measured and compared using glucose and PH strips on the second and fourth days in both groups. Data were analyzed using the independent T-test, Mann-Whitney, Chi-squared test, Mantel-Haenszel and logistic regression in the SPSS-16. Results: The aspiration, totally and in the fourth day, was lower in the intervention group in compare with the control group however the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Acupressure is an easy-to-use and harmless method to relatively decrease aspiration among the patients. It can be considered as a complementary treatment in decreasing aspiration among patients hospitalized in the intensive care units.