Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Razi Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
BMC Geriatr. 2023 Mar 27;23(1):171. doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-03881-7.
Constipation can be one of the biggest health problems for the older people that has negative effects on their quality of life. Some studies have reported that new non-pharmacological interventions such auricular acupressure have promising results in the management of constipation. This study was performed to investigate the effect of auricular acupressure on constipation and health-related quality of life in the older people living in the residential care home.
Sample of this randomized clinical trial consisted of 53 older people with chronic constipation living in a residential care home in the southeast of Iran (Kerman city). The participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 27) and control (n = 26) groups. Auricular acupressure was applied to seven auricular acupoints (large intestine, rectum, San Jiao, spleen, lung, sympathetic, and subcortex) using Vaccaria seeds for the intervention group and for the control group, seedless auricular plasters were used at the seven auricular acupoints for 10 days. Data were collected before the intervention, end of the intervention, and 10-day follow-up using demographic and clinical, Patient Assessment of Constipation-Symptom, and Patient Assessment of Constipation-Quality of Life questionnaires. The SPSS-22 software was used for data analysis.
The difference between groups and times was significant in constipation and related quality of life and scores. The mean score of constipation at the end of intervention was 0.41 less in the intervention group than the control group (P < 0.0001). This mean score, in the intervention group also on the 10-day follow-up was 0.09 less than the control group (P = 0.004), which indicates a decrease in the severity of constipation symptoms. In the intervention group, mean score of quality of life related to constipation at the end of intervention and the 10-day follow-up was 0.56 and 0.19 less than the control group (Decrease in the mean score of quality of life related to constipation indicates an improvement in the quality of life) (P < 0.0001).
The results showed the positive effect of auricular acupressure on reducing the severity of constipation symptoms and improving the quality of life in old patients living in the residential care home. This non-pharmaceutical practice can be used by nurses as an inexpensive, safe, acceptable, and non-invasive nursing care for older people with constipation in homes, medical centers, or nursing homes.
便秘可能是老年人面临的最大健康问题之一，对其生活质量有负面影响。一些研究表明，新的非药物干预措施，如耳穴按压，在管理便秘方面有很好的效果。本研究旨在探讨耳穴按压对居住在养老院的老年人便秘和与健康相关的生活质量的影响。
本随机临床试验的样本包括 53 名居住在伊朗东南部（克尔曼市）养老院的慢性便秘老年人。参与者被随机分配到干预组（n=27）和对照组（n=26）。干预组使用王不留行籽按压 7 个耳部穴位（大肠、直肠、三焦、脾、肺、交感神经和皮质下），对照组则在 7 个耳部穴位使用无籽耳贴，持续 10 天。使用人口统计学和临床、患者便秘症状评估和患者便秘生活质量评估问卷在干预前、干预结束时和 10 天随访时收集数据。使用 SPSS-22 软件进行数据分析。
组间和时间差异在便秘和相关生活质量评分上有统计学意义。干预结束时，干预组的便秘平均评分比对照组低 0.41 分（P<0.0001）。在干预组，10 天随访时的平均评分也比对照组低 0.09 分（P=0.004），这表明便秘症状的严重程度有所下降。在干预组，干预结束时和 10 天随访时与便秘相关的生活质量平均评分分别比对照组低 0.56 分和 0.19 分（生活质量相关便秘评分的平均值下降表明生活质量得到改善）（P<0.0001）。
结果表明，耳穴按压对减轻养老院老年患者便秘症状严重程度和提高生活质量有积极作用。这种非药物治疗方法可以由护士在家庭、医疗中心或养老院为便秘的老年人提供廉价、安全、可接受和非侵入性的护理。
