The Effect Of Auricular Therapy On Xerostomia,Weight And Fluid Load In Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients:A Pilot Study

ObjectiveIn this study,a single-center pilot randomized controlled trial was performed to objectively evaluate the effects of auricular therapy on the xerostomia,interdialytic weight gain(IDWG)and body water content in MHD patients to provide reference for clinical practice.MethodsIn this study,we selected hemodialysis patients with thirst who met the inclusion criteria.They were randomly divided into three groups:control group,sham auricular acupressure(SAA)group and auricular acupressure(AA)group.All three groups received sufficient dialysis and health education.The SAA group was treated with auricular acupressure on points without specific effect for 4 weeks.The AA group was treated with auricular acupressure which names are Spleen,Kidney,Shenmen,Sympathetisis,Mouth and Thirst point,according to TCM theory for 4 weeks.The time of visit was before treatment,after 4 weeks of treatment,and 2 weeks after treatment completion.The xerostomia symptom was assessed by Summated Xerostomia Inventory(SXI)and Dialysis Thirst Inventory(DTI).At the same time,the average daily interdialytic weight gain,blood pressure,salivary flow rate,and body water composition analysis values were recorded.Changes of the above parameters before and after treatment and between groups were analyzed.Results37 patients were enrolled in this study.1.There were no significant differences(P>0.05)in the total score of SXI,total score of DTI the average daily IDWG,blood pressure,salivary flow rate and body water component analysis between the control group,the SAA group and the AA group before treatment,after 4 weeks of treatment and after 2 weeks after treatment.2.There were no significant differences in total score of SXI,total score of DTI,average daily IDWG,blood pressure,salivary flow rate and body water composition before and after treatment,after 4 weeks treatment and 2 weeks after treatment in control group(P>0.05).The total score of DTI scale,water ratio of left upper limb and average diastolic pressure in the group of SAA had significant difference before and after treatment(P<0.05).There was significant difference before and after treatment(P<0.05).The mean rank of total score of DTI scale and water ratio of left upper limb were the lowest after 4 weeks of treatment,and were still lower 2 weeks after treatment than before treatment,while the mean rank of average diastolic pressure was the highest after treatment and the lowest before treatment.The total score of SXI score and DTI score of ear point group had significant difference before and after treatment(P<0.05).The mean rank was the highest after treatment and the lowest before treatment.At baseline level,the total score of the scale in the AA group was higher than that in the SAA group,while the total score was lower than that in the SAA group after 4 weeks treatment and 2 weeks after treatment.ConclusionAuricular therapy has no definite effect on the symptoms of xerostomia in maintenance hemodialysis patients.But its therapeutic effect may not be fully demonstrated due to the small sample size,short treatment time and so on,so its application value can not be denied.