Abstract
Introduction Acute pain is a prevalent problem for dementia residents in nursing homes. A variety of intervention strategies have been applied to address this problem. However, there remains an issue of inadequate pain control. This study aims to explore the analgesic efficacy of auricular acupressure (AA) for dementia residents with acute pain in nursing homes. Methods A multicenter, single-blind, randomized, and sham-controlled clinical trial was performed in three nursing homes in Yinchuan, China. All of the 206 eligible patients with acute pain were randomly divided into two groups for real AA therapy or sham AA (at sham point stimulation) therapy. The primary outcome was measured with a face pain scale revised (FPS-R) score before the procedure, 5 min after the start of the intervention, and 5 min after finishing the procedure. Secondary outcomes covered three physiological parameters, adverse reactions observed, satisfaction level of caregivers, acceptance of patients, and additional use of analgesics. Results There was a significant difference in pain scores based on FPS-R between the two groups (p < 0.01). Pain score in the true AA group was 1.84 ± 0.23, compared with 2.22 ± 0.81 in the sham AA group. No adverse events were found during the whole procedure for all patients. The satisfaction level of caregivers and acceptance of patients in the real AA group were significantly higher than those in the sham AA group. Conclusion This study shows that real AA was an alternative analgesic modality in reducing acute pain in patients with mild dementia.
Highlights
Acute pain is a prevalent problem for dementia residents in nursing homes
Up to 80% of residents living in nursing home settings have a diagnosis of dementia [3]
Study Design. is study is a multicenter, single-blind, randomized, and sham-controlled clinical trial of auricular acupressure (AA) as described in a study protocol [21]. e trial is performed from April 2018 to March 2020 at old-age care institutions in Yinchuan, China. e study has been approved by Ningxia
Summary
Acute pain is a prevalent problem for dementia residents in nursing homes. Is study aims to explore the analgesic efficacy of auricular acupressure (AA) for dementia residents with acute pain in nursing homes. E satisfaction level of caregivers and acceptance of patients in the real AA group were significantly higher than those in the sham AA group. Is study shows that real AA was an alternative analgesic modality in reducing acute pain in patients with mild dementia. Pain is the most common complaint of residents with dementia in nursing homes. E prevalence of pain among residents is significantly higher than in other communities, with numerous studies indicating that as many as 40% to Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A study in Europe reported that up to 82.9% of senior citizens with dementia experience pain in the nursing home [7]. Pain is an unpleasant subjective experience and the main culprit of many detrimental consequences
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