Acupressure has not an analgesic effect in patients with renal colic: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background<br />Easing renal colic (RC) pain is of the most important issues in the emergency departments. This study was conducted to investigate the analgesic effects of intravenous paracetamol in comparison to acupressure and intramuscular diclofenac in patients with RC.<br /><br />Methods<br />This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 96 eligible patients with RC, visiting the Emergency Department of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran. The participants were selected by consecutive non-random sampling method, and were randomized in three groups, each comprising of 32 participants. The first and second groups received 75 mg intramuscular diclofenac and 1g intravenous paracetamol, respectively. In the third group, three acupressure points were manually stimulated for six minutes. The pain score was measured by Visual Analog Scale for pain at baseline and after 10, 30, and 60 minutes. Collected information analyses by SPSS version 20 and interpreted using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage) and inferential statistics (chi-square test).<br /><br />Results<br />The mean age was 31.60 ± 7.42 years (range:18-50). The two methods (diclofenac and paracetamol groups) were significantly better in pain reduction compared to acupressure after 10 minutes (p<0.001). Ninety four percent of participants in diclofenac group, 87% of paracetamol group and none of acupressure group were completely satisfied with their treatment method (p<0.001).<br /><br />Conclusion<br />This study demonstrated that acupressure did not effectively reduces renal colic pain. It seems that contrary to acupressure, intravenous paracetamol is a safe and effective analgesic medicine for patients with RC.

Effect of acupressure on pain intensity and physiological indices in patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a randomized double-blind sham-controlled clinical trial

“…Corresponding to these findings, Düzel et al (2023) reported beneficial effects in reducing pain in patients after angiography [ 34 ]. However, one study did not find a significant effect of acupressure on the pain of colic patients [ 11 ]. The lack of previous studies on the impact of acupressure on pain during ESWL limits the opportunity for further comparison and discussion.…”

“…Undesirable effects of NSAIDs include allergy, gastrointestinal bleeding, decreased renal blood flow, and even kidney failure [ 10 ]. Additionally, the use of opioids may cause various side effects such as nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and respiratory depression [ 11 ]. Therefore, it is essential to develop non-pharmacological methods to control vital signs and reduce patient pain [ 12 ].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, there have been limited studies on the impact of acupressure on managing complications during ESWL. On the other hand, some available evidence has reported contradictory results regarding the effectiveness of acupressure in different clinical situations [ 11 , 13 ]. In this study, acupressure at the Qiu point is proposed, and its effectiveness in alleviating colicky pains has been documented in several studies [ 21 , 22 ].…”