Department of Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Chinese and Complementary Medicine, School of Persian and Complementary Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Complement Med Res. 2020;27(4):252-259. doi: 10.1159/000505637. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
Nausea and vomiting are common problems during pregnancy. Previous studies have shown that stimulation at Neiguan (PC6) acupoint can be effective in controlling pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, more evidence is required for approving this method on controlling pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of PC6 acupoint pressure stimulation on the severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching in pregnant women.
This randomized, multi-center clinical trial was conducted on pregnant women referring to Health Centers and Ommolbanin Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, during December 2016 to September 2017. Women with first singleton pregnancy and below 12 weeks were included. Patients were randomly allocated into three groups of (1) PC6 pressure (4 times a day, for 10 min), (2) sham acupressure, and (3) medication with vitamin B6 and metoclopramide. Assessment of severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching was done based on the Rhodes Index on the first and fifth day (before and after the intervention). Pearson chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis using SPSS version 18. This clinical trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) with the code IRCT201512187265N6.
Ninety patients with a mean age of 26.40 ± 4.73 years were studied in 3 groups of 30. There was no significant difference between the 3 groups in terms of the severity outcomes before the intervention, while, after the intervention, the three groups were significantly different on the fifth day in terms of vomiting frequency, distress from retching, distress from vomiting, duration of nausea, distress from nausea, amount of vomiting, frequency of nausea, and frequency of retching (p < 0.001 for each outcome). According to the linear regression analysis, the correlation between occupation with vomiting frequency (beta coefficient = 0.252) and nausea severity (beta coefficient = -0.213) was statistically significant.
It seems that PC6 acupoint pressure can reduce the severity of nausea, vomiting, and retching in pregnant women.
恶心和呕吐是怀孕期间常见的问题。先前的研究表明，刺激内关（PC6）穴位可以有效控制妊娠引起的恶心和呕吐。然而，需要更多的证据来证明这种方法对控制妊娠引起的恶心和呕吐是有效的。本研究旨在确定内关穴位按压对孕妇恶心、呕吐和干呕严重程度的影响。
这是一项在 2016 年 12 月至 2017 年 9 月期间在伊朗马什哈德的健康中心和 Ommolbanin 医院进行的随机、多中心临床试验。纳入了首次单胎妊娠且妊娠 12 周以下的孕妇。患者被随机分为三组：（1）PC6 按压（每天 4 次，每次 10 分钟），（2）假穴位按压，和（3）维生素 B6 和甲氧氯普胺药物治疗。根据 Rhodes 指数，在第 1 天和第 5 天（干预前后）评估恶心、呕吐和干呕的严重程度。使用 SPSS 版本 18 进行统计分析，采用 Pearson 卡方检验、单因素方差分析、Kruskal-Wallis 检验和 Wilcoxon 检验。这项临床试验在伊朗临床试验注册中心（IRCT）注册，注册号为 IRCT201512187265N6。
90 名平均年龄为 26.40 ± 4.73 岁的患者被分为 3 组，每组 30 人。在干预前，三组在严重程度方面无显著差异，而在干预后第 5 天，三组在呕吐频率、干呕痛苦、呕吐痛苦、恶心持续时间、恶心痛苦、呕吐量、恶心频率和干呕频率方面存在显著差异（每个结果均为 p < 0.001）。根据线性回归分析，职业与呕吐频率（β系数=0.252）和恶心严重程度（β系数=-0.213）之间存在相关性。
内关穴位按压似乎可以减轻孕妇恶心、呕吐和干呕的严重程度。
