Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34922567›Full record

ArticleChinese medicine2021

Acupressure in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis: a randomized controlled exploratory trial.

Lukas Israel, Gabriele Rotter, Ulrike Förster-Ruhrmann, Josef Hummelsberger, Rainer Nögel, Andreas Michalsen, Tatjana Tissen-Diabaté, Sylvia Binting, Thomas Reinhold, Miriam Ortiz and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Chinese medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Lukas IsraelInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Gabriele RotterInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Ulrike Förster-RuhrmannDepartment for Otolaryngology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité Platz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Josef HummelsbergerSocietas Medicinae Sinensis (SMS) e.V. - International Society for Chinese Medicine, Franz-Joseph-Straße 38, 80801, Munich, Germany.
Rainer NögelSocietas Medicinae Sinensis (SMS) e.V. - International Society for Chinese Medicine, Franz-Joseph-Straße 38, 80801, Munich, Germany.
Andreas MichalsenInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Tatjana Tissen-DiabatéInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Sylvia BintingInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Thomas ReinholdInstitute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
Miriam Ortiz *Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany. miriam.ortiz@charite.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0889-7890
Benno Brinkhaus *Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Luisenstr. 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcupuncture has shown beneficial effects for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR); however, it is time and cost intensive. We investigated feasibility and effects of self-administered body acupressure as a self-care technique that stimulates acupuncture points with manual pressure in SAR patients.

methodsWe conducted a two-armed randomized controlled exploratory trial to compare effects of self-administered acupressure over 4 weeks at five acupuncture points plus rescue medication (RM) with cetirizine compared to RM alone in SAR patients. Among other outcome parameters, we assessed disease-related quality of life (Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire [RQLQ]), overall SAR symptoms by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a rescue medication score (RMS) after 4 and 8 weeks.

resultsForty-one SAR patients (mean age 38.5 ± 10.0 years, n = 21, 51.2% women) were randomized. Compared to RM alone (n = 21), acupressure plus RM (n = 20) was associated with relevant improvements after 4 weeks, shown by the difference between groups in adjusted means of RQLQ: - 0.9 points (95% CI - 1.6 to - 0.2; p = 0.011) and VAS overall SAR symptoms: - 21.6 mm (95% CI - 36.3 to - 6.8; p = 0.005). The RMS was lower in the acupressure group than in the control group: 1.9 points (95% CI - 3.8 to - 0.1; p = 0.120). Group differences decreased slightly until week 8. The acupressure was feasible and safe.

conclusionResults of this exploratory study indicate that self-applied acupressure is feasible, may improve disease-specific quality of life and reduce disease-related symptoms as well as anti-allergic medication intake in SAR patients. High-quality confirmatory studies including a sham-control group are needed in the future. Trial registration DRKS-ID: DRKS00014310. Date of registration in DRKS: 2018/04/24. Investigator sponsored/initiated trial (IST/IIT): yes. Ethics approval/approval of the ethics committee: Approved (leading) Ethics Committee No. EA1/033/18, Ethik-Kommission der Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin. URL: https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00014310.

Indexed as

AcupressureChinese medicineRhinitis quality of lifeSeasonal allergic rhinitis

Identifiers

PMID34922567
PMCPMC8684198

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.