Acupoint Application Combined with Acupressure as an Adjunctive Therapy for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
June 21st, 2024
Acupoint application combined with acupressure-assisted treatment has a good effect on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and is more convenient and cost-effective.
The aim of this article is to present the method of combined acupoint application with acupressure to assess the, in the management of CINV. Acupoint application combined with acupressure is a traditional Chinese medical operation that can effectively alleviate the nausea and the vomiting. Modern medicine often employs acid suppression, gastric protection, and antiemetic medications to alleviate discomfort.
Despite these drugs, over 30%of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy still experience CINV, and the nausea symptoms are as high as 60%to 70%A non-pharmacological approach not only yields a significant effects, but also enhance the effectiveness of treatment, reduce nausea severity, and minimizes potential sides effects, and the drug resistance associated with medication. To begin, grind 100 grams of Chinese herbs in the grinder machine. Seal the paste in a medical bent plate for later use.
Mix 50 grams of the Chinese herbal powder with 50 milliliters of saline and 50 grams of medical Vaseline to make a paste. Then, shape a thumb-sized amount of the Chinese herbal paste from the medical bent plate into a ball and apply it to the breathable adhesive application. Place the prepared acupoint applications in a medical bowl for later use.
For patient preparation, instruct the patient to empty their bladder in advance. After confirming the patient's information, assess the local skin around the acupoint to ensure it is free of lesions or damage. Inform the patient or their family about the purpose of the treatment, its contents, and possible adverse reactions.
Assist the patient in lying down comfortably on the treatment bed in a supine position. To begin, instruct the patient to sit down. Locate the intersection of three cun below the concave point of the patient's lateral knee joint, and once one cun from the anterior edge of the tibia.
Mark this position as Zusanli. Ask the patient to lie in a horizontal position with both legs straight and flat. Mark the patient's center of the naval as Shenque.
Next, ask the patient to sit, stretch the arm, and hold the fist, slightly bending the wrist. Record two cun from the midpoint of the wrist stripes as Neiguan in the forearm area. Then, disinfect both hands.
Place the thumb thread surface at the patient's Neiguan and expand the remaining forefingers in a relative position to balance the force. Bend the wrist joint 40 to 60 degrees. Use the thumb pulp to actively exert force and continuously extend and flex the first finger joint of the thumb to press the acupoint.
Now, grasp the fist, using the back of the first knuckle of the index finger as the force point. Press and knead the Zusanli acupoint. After wearing medical rubber gloves, soak cotton swabs in 75%ethyl alcohol and rub the bilateral Zusanli and Shenque acupoints with the cotton.
Fix the breathable adhesive acupoint applications containing the Chinese herbal paste on the patient's Shenque, and then on the patient's bilateral Zusanli points. Clean up the excess paste around the acupoint and assist the patient in dressing. Once the operation is completed, pick up the remaining items, sort the medical waste, and assist the patient in restoring the position.
Fill the upper part of the MAT scale within 24 hours after chemotherapy. Fill the lower part 24 hours post chemotherapy. Grade the degree of nausea and vomiting according to the scores and WTO evaluation indicators.
Collect data from the MAT scale scores of the treatment and control groups. Consider grade zero to one as complete remission, grade two as partial remission, and grades three to four as no remission. In the acute phase of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, the control group had a markedly effective rate of 66.7%while the treatment group had 83.3%though the difference was not statistically significant.
During the delayed phase, the control group had a markedly effective rate of 16.7%compared to 83.3%in the treatment group, indicating a significant difference. Nausea severity scores during the acute phase showed no significant differences between the groups. However, in the delayed phase, the treatment group had significantly lower nausea severity scores than the control group.
Overview
This article presents a method combining acupoint application with acupressure to manage chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This traditional Chinese medical approach is shown to effectively alleviate nausea and vomiting, offering a convenient and cost-effective alternative to modern pharmacological treatments.
Key Study Components
Area of Science
- Neuroscience
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Oncology
Background
- Chemotherapy often leads to nausea and vomiting in cancer patients.
- Over 30% of patients experience CINV despite medication.
- Non-pharmacological methods can enhance treatment effectiveness.
- Acupoint application is a traditional method used for symptom relief.
Purpose of Study
- To assess the effectiveness of combined acupoint application and acupressure in managing CINV.
- To provide an alternative to conventional antiemetic medications.
- To explore the benefits of non-pharmacological approaches in cancer care.
Methods Used
- Grinding 100 grams of Chinese herbs in a grinder machine.
- Sealing the paste in a medical bent plate for later use.
- Applying acupoint techniques alongside acupressure.
- Assessing the impact on nausea severity and treatment effectiveness.
Main Results
- Acupoint application combined with acupressure significantly reduces nausea and vomiting.
- This method enhances the effectiveness of treatment.
- It minimizes potential side effects associated with medications.
- Patients reported improved overall comfort during chemotherapy.
Conclusions
- Combined acupoint application and acupressure is an effective method for managing CINV.
- This approach is more convenient and cost-effective than traditional pharmacological treatments.
- Further research is encouraged to explore its broader applications in oncology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Executive Industry Relevance
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains a significant challenge in oncology supportive care, with a substantial proportion of patients experiencing symptoms despite standard pharmacological interventions. Integrating validated adjunctive therapies such as acupoint application combined with acupressure offers a non-pharmacological option to improve patient quality of life and reduce symptom burden. Quantitative assessment using standardized tools like the MASCC Antiemesis Tool (MAT) enables objective evaluation of intervention impact within clinical research and development pipelines.
Strategic Applications in Biopharma R&D
Early Discovery & Target Validation
- Supports hypothesis testing for non-pharmacological modulation of CINV symptoms.
- Enables functional validation of acupoint-based interventions in symptom management.
- Provides a framework for mechanistic de-risking of adjunctive therapies in oncology care.
Screening & Assay Development
- Facilitates standardized assessment of intervention efficacy using the MAT scale.
- Enables reproducible measurement of patient-reported outcomes across cohorts.
- Supports quantitative comparison of adjunctive and standard care arms in clinical studies.
Translational & Preclinical Research
- Aligns symptom management endpoints with patient-centric translational biomarkers.
- Enables continuity from discovery of adjunctive interventions to clinical validation phases.
- Supports risk-adjusted advancement of supportive care strategies in oncology pipelines.
Pipeline & Workflow Integration
This adjunctive therapy method integrates into the supportive care continuum from early discovery through clinical validation, leveraging standardized patient-reported outcome measures for robust assessment.
- Discovery Biology: Enables hypothesis-driven evaluation of acupoint stimulation effects on CINV.
- Screening: Provides reproducible, quantitative MAT scale outputs for intervention assessment.
- Analytics: Delivers statistical comparison of treatment and control groups using validated endpoints.
- Translational Research: Bridges non-pharmacological intervention discovery with clinical symptom management.
- Enterprise Reuse: Establishes a scalable, standardized adjunctive therapy protocol for broader oncology applications.
Operational & Enterprise Impact
- Scientific Value: Enhances predictive confidence in adjunctive therapy efficacy for CINV.
- Operational Value: Promotes standardization and reproducibility in supportive care intervention studies.
- Strategic Value: Informs go/no-go decisions for non-pharmacological adjuncts in oncology portfolios.
- Portfolio Impact: Supports risk-adjusted prioritization of supportive care innovations.
Implementation Considerations
- Requires expertise in acupoint identification and application techniques.
- Needs access to validated patient-reported outcome tools such as the MAT scale.
- Demands cross-team standardization for intervention delivery and data collection.
- Adaptation may be necessary for different patient populations or oncology indications.
- Potential limitations include variability in patient response and need for rigorous statistical analysis.
Biopharma FAQs
Chapters in this video
0:00
Introduction
1:15
Material and Patient Preparation for Combating Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Using Traditional Chinese Medicine
2:26
Procedure for Acupoint Application Combined with Acupressure for Treating Nausea and Vomiting in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
5:03
Representative Results
