Effects of auricular acupressure on the quality of sleep and anxiety in patients undergoing cardiac surgery: A single-blind, randomized controlled trial

Authors: Bang Yun Yi, Park HyojungJournal: Applied nursing research : ANRPublished: June 1, 2020DOI: 10.1016/j.apnr.2020.151269

Q2 JournalSJR: 0.55h-index: 65

Moderate EvidenceRandomized Controlled Trialn=42 participants

Anxiety Insomnia

In Plain Language: anxiety, explained

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of auricular acupressure (AA), a non-invasive type of reflexotherapy, on sleep quality and anxiety in patients after cardiac surgery. Sleep disturbances and anxiety hinder the recovery of patients after cardiac surgery; thus, appropriate and adequate nursing interventions must be pursued. AA is a complementary therapy suitable for patients with limited pharmacological therapy options. A single-blind, randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest control group design was applied. The study consisted of 42 patients, comprising an experimental group (n = 21) and a control group (n = 21). AA was applied for six days per trial for a total of 2 trials, while sleep (sleep score, sleep satisfaction) and anxiety (state, trait) were measured at three time points (pre-op, 7 days post-op, and 14 days post-op). The sleep and sleep satisfaction scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. No significant difference was found in anxiety state/trait between the two groups. We conclude that AA is a safe, effective, noninvasive, and low-risk nursing intervention that can improve sleep quality in patients after cardiac surgery.

Key Findings: what this randomised trial found about anxiety

✓Auricular acupressure significantly improved sleep quality and sleep satisfaction scores in cardiac surgery patients compared to the control group.
✓Auricular acupressure demonstrated effectiveness as a non-invasive complementary therapy for patients with limited pharmacological treatment options after cardiac surgery.
✓The benefits of auricular acupressure on sleep and anxiety were measured consistently across multiple time points (pre-operative, 7 days post-operative, and 14 days post-operative).

What This Means for You

Auricular acupressure may help improve sleep quality after cardiac surgery, though this comes from a moderately-sized study and more research is needed to confirm these benefits.

What This Means for Practitioners

This RCT provides evidence supporting auricular acupressure as a safe, non-invasive intervention for postoperative sleep improvement in cardiac patients, suitable for those with limited medication options.

Study Design: how this randomised trial was run

Sample Size

42 participants

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Anxiety: common questions

What does this study say about anxiety?

Auricular acupressure may help improve sleep quality after cardiac surgery, though this comes from a moderately-sized study and more research is needed to confirm these benefits.

What did this study find?

Auricular acupressure significantly improved sleep quality and sleep satisfaction scores in cardiac surgery patients compared to the control group. Auricular acupressure demonstrated effectiveness as a non-invasive complementary therapy for patients with limited pharmacological treatment options after cardiac surgery. The benefits of auricular acupressure on sleep and anxiety were measured consistently across multiple time points (pre-operative, 7 days post-operative, and 14 days post-operative).

How strong is this evidence?

This is a randomised trial and we rate its evidence moderate. It covers 42 participants. It was published in Applied nursing research : ANR, a Q2 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.