Effect of auricular acupressure on nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy: a review study

Introduction: Chemotherapy is one of the most common methods of cancer treatment, which leads to many side effects, including nausea and vomiting. One of the complementary treatments that is currently used to control nausea and vomiting in these patients; The use of ear acupressure. This study was conducted with the aim of systematically investigating the effect of ear acupressure on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. Method: In this review, all studies from ۲۰۱۰ to June ۲۰۲۳ in PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases ,Magiran,SID with the keywords "Auricular Acupuncture", "Nausea", "Vomiting", "Chemotherapy" and "Cancer" were examined. were included, the prepared articles were screened based on the inclusion criteria. Results: A total of ۱۰۶۱ articles were identified through the initial search, and finally ۵ articles that met the inclusion criteria were examined. Most of the conducted studies confirmed the effect of ear acupressure on nausea, especially in the acute phase; While the results of the studies related to the impact of this intervention on vomiting and control of delayed phase symptoms were contradictory. Conclusion: Auricular acupressure can be helpful in improving nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy; and be used as a complementary method. However, due to the limitations of the studies conducted in this field and the conflicting results, it is suggested to conduct more and more diverse researches in this field.

Keywords:

Acupressure of the ear , Nausea Vomiting Chemotherapy , Cancer , طب فشاری گوش , تهوع , استفراغ , شیمی درمانی , سرطان