Effect of acupressure on thirst in hemodialysis patients

Thirst and dry mouth are common among hemodialysis (HD) patients. This paper reports a study to evaluate the impact of an acupressure program on HD patients' thirst and salivary flow rates.

The acupressure program included placebo, followed by true acupressure each applied for 4 weeks. Twenty-eight patients (mean age 57.6, SD = 16.13 years) first received a sticker as placebo acupressure at two acupoints CV23 and TE17 three times a week for 4 weeks, and then received true acupressure in the same area for the next 4 weeks. Salivary flow rate and thirst intensity were measured at baseline, during and after treatment completion for both the placebo and true acupressure program.

The true acupressure program was associated with significantly increased salivary flow rate (0.09 +/- 0.08 ml/min at baseline to 0.12 +/- 0.08 ml/min after treatments completion, p = 0.04). The mean thirst intensity also improved from 4.21 +/- 2.66 at baseline to 2.43 +/- 2.32 (p = 0.008) after treatment completion in HD patients. There was no statistically significant difference in pre-post program salivary flow rate; however, significant improvement in thirst intensity scores was observed (p = 0.009) in the placebo acupressure program.

This study provides preliminary evidence that acupressure may be effective in improving salivary flow rates and thirst intensity.