Abstract
BackgroundAcupuncture has shown beneficial effects for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR); however, it is time and cost intensive. We investigated feasibility and effects of self-administered body acupressure as a self-care technique that stimulates acupuncture points with manual pressure in SAR patients.MethodsWe conducted a two-armed randomized controlled exploratory trial to compare effects of self-administered acupressure over 4 weeks at five acupuncture points plus rescue medication (RM) with cetirizine compared to RM alone in SAR patients. Among other outcome parameters, we assessed disease-related quality of life (Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire [RQLQ]), overall SAR symptoms by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a rescue medication score (RMS) after 4 and 8 weeks.ResultsForty-one SAR patients (mean age 38.5 ± 10.0 years, n = 21, 51.2% women) were randomized. Compared to RM alone (n = 21), acupressure plus RM (n = 20) was associated with relevant improvements after 4 weeks, shown by the difference between groups in adjusted means of RQLQ: − 0.9 points (95% CI − 1.6 to − 0.2; p = 0.011) and VAS overall SAR symptoms: − 21.6 mm (95% CI − 36.3 to − 6.8; p = 0.005). The RMS was lower in the acupressure group than in the control group: 1.9 points (95% CI − 3.8 to − 0.1; p = 0.120). Group differences decreased slightly until week 8. The acupressure was feasible and safe.ConclusionResults of this exploratory study indicate that self-applied acupressure is feasible, may improve disease-specific quality of life and reduce disease-related symptoms as well as anti-allergic medication intake in SAR patients. High-quality confirmatory studies including a sham-control group are needed in the future.Trial registration DRKS-ID: DRKS00014310. Date of registration in DRKS: 2018/04/24. Investigator sponsored/initiated trial (IST/IIT): yes. Ethics approval/approval of the ethics committee: Approved (leading) Ethics Committee No. EA1/033/18, Ethik-Kommission der Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin. URL: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00014310
Highlights
Acupuncture has shown beneficial effects for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR); it is time and cost intensive
In total, 503 SAR patients were screened by telephone by the study staff; 66 met the criteria for an initial visit
The visual analogue scale (VAS) for overall SAR symptoms, the TNSS and the TNNSS showed lower values in the acupressure group than the control group and highlighted differences between groups in favour of the acupressure group after week 4: VAS − 21.6 mm; TNSS − 2.3 points; and TNNSS -1.4 points (CI 95% − 2.6 to − 0.2; p = 0.026) (Table 3 and Figs. 4, 5)
Summary
Acupuncture has shown beneficial effects for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR); it is time and cost intensive. In its intermittent and perennial forms (traditionally termed seasonal and perennial) is a highly prevalent disease [1] that affects up to 30% of Europeans [2] and 12–30% of US Americans [3]. Many patients use complementary medicine treatments, such as acupuncture, to improve seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) symptoms, and acupuncture is often used in Germany (17% lifetime prevalence) for SAR conditions [10, 11]. Acupuncture has been recommended as an optional treatment in the new clinical practice guidelines developed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology [7]
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