Effect of acupressure on fatigue in patients on hemodialysis

Fatigue is considered as a major problem in hemodialysis patients and can impair their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acupressure on fatigue in hemodialysis patients.

This is a clinical trial study in which 96 hemodialysis patients participated. Patients were randomly assigned into acupressure, placebo, and control groups (32 subjects fulfilling the inclusion criteria assigned to each group). The measures included the form of demographic characteristics, visual analog scale of fatigue, and Piper Fatigue Scale. Patients in the acupressure and placebo groups received acupressure intervention during the early 2 h of dialysis on six acupoints with massage for 20 min/day, 3 days per week for 4 weeks. In the placebo group, acupressure intervention was performed as mentioned above with a distance of 1 cm away from the actual intervention site. Patients in the control group received routine unit care only. Chi- quare test, Kruskal-Wallis, paired t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Duncan test were used for data analysis.

One-way ANOVA tests showed significant differences in the total mean score of fatigue and fatigue mean scores in the behavioral, emotional, sensory, and cognitive dimensions in the acupressure, placebo, and control groups.

The results of this study showed that acupressure may reduce fatigue in hemodialysis patients, and use of this non-pharmacologic technique for hemodialysis nurses is suggested.