The Effects of Acupressure on Improving Postoperative Gastrointestinal Symptom Distress in Esophageal Cancer Patients

August 6, 2025 updated by: CHEN, CHIA-CHEN
This study is a quasi-experimental design clinical trial with the primary objective of comparing the health status of patients with esophageal cancer. Participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Patients in the experimental group received routine care and acupressure for 5 consecutive days starting from the day after entering the ward after esophageal cancer surgery, in the control group, participants received routine care, and Participants were assessed on the Gastrointestinal Symptom Distress Scale at the end of the intervention. The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of acupressure in improving of gastrointestinal symptoms distress after esophageal cancer surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Esophageal cancer is one of the common and highly fatal malignant tumors, and its incidence rate is increasing every year, and most of them are in the middle and advanced stages when diagnosed. Surgery is the standard treatment for the eradication of esophageal cancer, which can effectively reduce the mortality rate and improve the survival rate, but the patients often experience gastrointestinal discomfort after surgery, which impedes the intake of nutrients and the body's recovery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acupressure in improving the postoperative gastrointestinal discomfort in patients with esophageal cancer. An experimental study design was adopted, and patients were assigned to the experimental group and the control group in a time-divided manner. The experimental group was assigned to the experimental group and the control group in a time-separated manner. The experimental group received regular care from the first day to the fifth day after the patients were transferred from the intensive care unit to the hospital ward after the surgery, and they received acupressure at the Neiguan point of the upper limbs and the four acupoints of the foot Sanli of the lower limbs twice a day for 3 minutes each, for a total of 12 minutes; while the control group received regular care in the first day of the study. In this study, the gastrointestinal symptoms of the experimental group before and after acupressure were collected and compared with those of the control group, in order to verify the effectiveness of acupressure in improving gastrointestinal symptoms during postoperative nutritional support for jejunostomy.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

48

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

  • Taiwan
      • Taoyuan, Taiwan
        • Chang Gung Memotial Hospital

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Hospitalized men and women who agree to participate in this study
  • Patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer based on pathological tissue section results
  • Nutritional support through jejunostomy in post esophagectomy patients
  • A sufficient level of education to understand study procedures and be able to communicate with site personnel

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or lactating women
  • Diagnosed and treated for peripheral vascular disease within 3 months prior to surgery.
  • Those with unstable vital signs and septicemia infection after surgery.
  • Those who are suffering from blood diseases with abnormal coagulation function, or Currently taking anticoagulant drugs.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: acupressure
Participants received routine care and acupressure.
Other: acupressure
In the experimental group, routine nursing care and acupressure (Neiguan and Zusanli points) were performed from the 1st to the 5th day after the postoperative transfer from the ward to the hospital room. Twice a day, 3 minutes each time, 12 minutes in total.
No Intervention: no intervision
received routine care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in gastrointestinal symptom distress Scale at study day 5(end day)
Time Frame: Baseline and study day 5

The Gastrointestinal Symptom Distress Scale is a validated self-report tool that assesses 10 gastrointestinal symptoms that patients with esophageal cancer may face after surgery. The 10-question questionnaire measures the self-perceived severity of nausea, vomiting, satiety, bloating, abdominal cramps, acid reflux, chest tightness, heart burn, diarrhea, and constipation, as well as the degree of interference with life. Using an 11-point Likert scale, 0 points (never happened), 1 point (very slight/very slight interference), 10 points (very severe/extreme interference), and the total score of the scale is 0-100 points.

The higher the measured score, the more severe the gastrointestinal discomfort symptoms are and the more they interfere with life.

The Gastrointestinal Symptom Distress Scale was subjected to an expert validity review, using the CVI (content validity index) calculation method, and the score was above 0.80.
Baseline and study day 5

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

CHEN, CHIA-CHEN

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Chia-Chen Chen, Chang Gung Memorail Hospital

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)

March 27, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 18, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

July 18, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 17, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

February 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2025

Last Verified

August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 202301754B0

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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