Taspinar, A., & Sirin, A. (2010). Effect of acupressure on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in gynecologic cancer patients in Turkey. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 14, 49–54. 

To evaluate the effect of a wristband acupressure for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with gynecologic cancers

Patients completed diaries daily for five days while they were receiving chemotherapy. Based on their treatment protocol, patients received a wristband 21 to 28 days later, along with written and verbal instructions and demonstration on its use. Patients were instructed to wear the wristbands constantly and to complete the patient diaries for the five days while receiving chemotherapy. On the sixth day, patients completed questionnaires about the wristbands. All patients received standard antiemetics and recorded medication use in their diaries.

• The study consisted of 34 patients.
• The mean age of patients was 50.55 ± 10.55 years, with a range of 24–69 years.
• All of the patients were female.
• The majority of patients (76.5%) had ovarian cancer, with the balance having cancer of the endometrium, cervix, or fallopian tubes (23.5%).
• The majority of patients (85.3%) had completed primary/middle school, and 14.7% were high school/university graduates.
• Nearly half (47%) of patients had or were experiencing motion sickness, and 65.6% had histories of nausea or vomiting during the first months of pregnancy.
• Patients were receiving different chemotherapy regimens, but all were receiving carboplatin along with various other chemotherapy (cisplatin + cyclophosphamide, cisplatin + paclitaxel, doxorubicin, or docetaxel).

The study was conducted at multiple outpatient sites in Turkey.

All patients were in active treatment.

This was a prospective clinical trial with a pre/post-test design.

• Sociodemographic information and medical histories were recorded.
• Patients recorded nausea severity on a 0–10 scale (0 for no nausea; 10 for very severe nausea) in diaries and completed wristband questionnaires.
• Vomiting, retching, number of antiemetics taken, and amount of time the wristband was worn were recorded on graphs.

• Mean nausea significantly decreased after wristband use compared to before wristband (p = 0.000).
• No significant difference was noted in vomiting or retching.
• The mean use of antiemetic medication with wristbands was significantly less than before wristbands (p = 0.000).

Acupressure wristbands worn by patients with gynecologic cancers during chemotherapy administration were associated with a significant reduction in nausea but not vomiting or retching. Less antiemetic medication was used with the acupressure wristband.

• The sample was small with fewer than 100 patients.
• The majority of patients had less than a high school education, which may have influenced the information recorded in the patient diaries. 
• Patients may have over- or underestimated the time they wore the acupressure wristband.
• A placebo effect could have arisen with patients expecting any treatment would reduce their symptoms, especially since the time of wristband use had no effect on outcome measures.
• How delayed nausea was defined and analyzed was not clear, because patients recorded their symptoms only during their chemotherapy treatment.
• How often or when the nausea and vomiting measurements were recorded was not clear.
• No reliability or validity information was provided for any of the tools used.

Acupressure wristbands may provide some relief of nausea during chemotherapy treatment; however, they do not appear to provide relief from retching or vomiting.