The Effectiveness of Acupressure Therapy on Physiological Criteria in Female Patients Being Weaned from Mechanical Ventilation

Introduction: Improving the respiratory function of patients for weaning mechanical ventilation is one of the caring challenges in intensive care settings. Acupressure maybe improves physiological criteria. Therefore, this study aimed to determine acupressure therapy on physiological criteria in female patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in intensive care units of a teaching hospital affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Eighty patients were recruited based on inclusion criteria and randomly allocated to experimental (n=40) and placebo (n=40) groups. While the experimental group received acupressure for 20 minutes and placebo group received pressure only on the thumb. Physiological checklist (respiratory rate, heart rate, and oxygen saturation and mean blood pressure) recorded in the interval before, immediately, and 20 minutes after the intervention, on the T-piece, after extubation, 20 min after extubation. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and analyzed using SPSS- v 20. Results: After the intervention, respiratory rate and mean blood pressure were not significantly different between the groups (P > 0.05). However, ANOVA test showed that the heart rate and oxygen saturation were significantly different between the groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Implementation of acupressure can have positive effects on physiological criteria in female patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation and is recommended as a non-pharmacological intervention.