Effect of Acupressure on Symptoms of Postoperative Ileus After Cesarean Section

Abstract

Postoperative ileus (POI) is a common complication after most abdominal surgeries including cesarean section. It is associated with longer hospitalization and increased medical costs. This study is a randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of acupressure, and low-cost noninvasive traditional treatment, on POI symptoms after cesarean section. A total of 120 patients were randomly divided into two groups; the treatment group received two sessions of acupressure (an hour after attending the women's division; and 3 hours after the first session), each lasting 20 minutes. The time of flatus and defecation, time to presence of bowel sounds, and duration of postoperative bed rest were monitored. Patients in the treatment group had a shorter time to presence of bowel sounds compared with those in the control group (p < 0.001), as well as shorter time to first passage of flatus (p < 0.001) and shorter postoperative bed rest (p Z 0.005). However, the time to first defecation was not statistically significant (p Z 0.311). Acupressure has potential positive impacts on attenuating POI symptoms after cesarean section, and can be used as a low-cost noninvasive nursing care to reduce POI incidence and intensity after cesarean section.

Nurse-delivered acupressure on early postoperative gastrointestinal function among patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery

“…This finding is consistent with previous studies. 22 , 31 , 49 One possible explanation is that patients take different amounts and types of food after flatus passage, which can influence the time to have defecation passage. Future studies may measure the amount and types of food intake to examine this factor.…”

Acupuncture and Related Therapies for Treatment of Postoperative Ileus in Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Overall, the results of the 21 RCTs indicated that acupuncture therapies reduced time to recovery of gastrointestinal function following CRC surgery. In studies of other abdominal surgeries, acupuncture has been reported to reduce POI following gastrectomy [ 47 , 48 ] and caesarean section [ 49 ], so the effects found in this meta-analysis are not limited to surgery for CRC. With regard to type of surgery, most data were for open surgery but significant reductions in time to recovery were also evident in studies of laparoscopic surgery for CRC and surgery for rectal cancer.…”

Acupressure and Acupuncture Use in the Peripartum Period

“…These studies evaluated a wide range of conditions including pain during laceration repair, pain after vaginal delivery, pain after cesarean section, urinary retention, volume of milk secretion, time to return of bowel function, and markers of stress after cesarean. Abadi et al79 reported that acupressure at points ST36 and LI4 resulted in the postoperative return of bowel function and showed a significant decrease in time to the presence of bowel sounds and passage of flatus compared with standard of care. For women with postpartum urinary retention after either vaginal delivery or cesarean delivery, acupuncture was equally as effective as catheterization to result in spontaneous voiding within an hour 80.…”