Investigating the Effect of Acupressure on Shivering During a Cesarean Delivery in Women Who Were Previously Laboring With an Epidural

October 12, 2022 updated by: Daniel Katz, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Effect of P6 Acupressure Stimulation on Shivering During Cesarean Section Under Epidural Anesthesia.

Shivering during a cesarean section can be quite uncomfortable for the patient as well as make it difficult for the anesthesiologist to obtain vital signs. The researchers will investigate whether or not applying pressure to the P6 acupressure point during a cesarean section can treat shivering. The hypothesis is that shivering will be alleviated with acupressure.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to determine whether applying pressure to the left and right P6 acupoints can treat shivering in a patient undergoing a cesarean section. The hypothesis is that bilateral stimulation of P6 with pressure can stop or alleviate shivering.

The primary endpoint is resolution of shivering within 15 minutes of applying bilateral pressure to P6 acupoints during a cesarean section.

The secondary endpoints include:

  1. Time to resolution of shivering
  2. Degree of patient-reported improvement in shivering
  3. Degree of practitioner-reported improvement in shivering
  4. Assessment of skin irritation and/or pain at the site of acupressure vs control

Patient information will be stored in a locked cabinet on labor and delivery, and that cabinet will be located in a T3-locked office. The link between subject ID and patient ID will be stored in a different office on labor and delivery, also under a T3 lock.

Patients who are laboring with an epidural catheter and subsequently require a cesarean section will be selected. This patient population has a MUCH higher rate of shivering during the cesarean section as compared to patients who undergo elective scheduled cesarean sections under spinal anesthesia. By selecting this group, the investigators are not only increasing chances of identifying shivering but also decreasing variability between patient characteristics by limiting it to one type (only epidural and not spinal) and limiting the number of screen failures.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

43

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 64 years (ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • a patient has to be classified as an American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical status I, II, or III, laboring with an epidural catheter, and subsequently taken for a non-emergent cesarean section under epidural anesthesia with a core body temperature range of 35.5-38.0 degrees Celsius during shivering.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • ASA status 4 or higher
  • core body temperature lower than 35.5 or higher than 38.0
  • thyroid disease
  • systemic infection
  • emergent cesarean section,
  • a psychiatric, cognitive or medical condition that would compromise adherence to the protocol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: DOUBLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Sham bracelet
Patients randomized to sham group will wear bracelets on both hands which will not apply acupressure
Patients will wear bracelets on both hands
EXPERIMENTAL: Acupressure bracelet
Patients randomized to the experimental group will wear bracelets on both hands which will apply acupressure to the P6 acupoint.
Patients will wear bracelets on both hands.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidence of resolution of shivering at 15 minutes
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Incidence of resolution of shivering within 15 minutes of applying bilateral pressure to P6 acupoints during a cesarean section.
up to 15 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to resolution of shivering
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Time to resolution of shivering
up to 15 minutes
Degree of resolution of shivering
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Degree of patient-reported improvement in shivering as measured by Crossley & Mahajan shivering scale: 0 = no shivering;1 = no visible muscle activity but piloerection, peripheral vasoconstriction, or both are present (other causes excluded); 2 = muscular activity in only one muscle group; 3 = moderate muscular activity in more than one muscle group but no generalized shaking; 4 = violent muscular activity that involves the whole body.
up to 15 minutes
Degree of practitioner-reported improvement in shivering
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Degree of practitioner-reported improvement in shivering as measured by Crossley & Mahajan shivering scale: 0 = no shivering;1 = no visible muscle activity but piloerection, peripheral vasoconstriction, or both are present (other causes excluded); 2 = muscular activity in only one muscle group; 3 = moderate muscular activity in more than one muscle group but no generalized shaking; 4 = violent muscular activity that involves the whole body.
up to 15 minutes
Number of participants with skin irritation
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Number of participants with skin irritation at the site of acupressure obtained by patient self-reporting
up to 15 minutes
Number of participants with pain
Time Frame: up to 15 minutes
Number of participants with pain at the site of acupressure obtained by patient self-reporting
up to 15 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jeffery Zahn, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

January 11, 2018

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

October 4, 2021

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

October 4, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 6, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2018

First Posted (ACTUAL)

April 13, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

October 14, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 12, 2022

Last Verified

October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GCO 17-2495

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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