CLINICAL RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
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Salons 10-12.
FRIDAY, 10:15-11:00 AM
Mehling W, Jacobs B, Acree M, West J, Acquah L, Burns
B, Chapman J, Hecht F.
Acupuncture and massage improve patient satisfaction
in post-operative hospitalized cancer patients: data from a randomized
controlled pilot study.
Osher Center for Integrative Medicine University
of California, San Francisco jacobsb@ocim.ucsf.edu
PURPOSE: To assess the acceptance and feasibility
of a peri-operative inpatient integrative medicine service (PIMS) comprised
of free acupuncture and massage for hospitalized cancer surgery patients
in an academic medical center.
METHODS: In September 2004 the PIMS was started
for inpatients undergoing cancer related surgeries at an academic Cancer
Center. To evaluate patients' acceptance and satisfaction and collect
effective-ness pilot data we transformed the service into a clinical
trial intervention. From June to September 2005, we asked eligible patients
seen in the pre-operative prepare clinic whether they are interested
in receiving acupuncture and massage and enrolled 106 patients who were
randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either PIMS (69) on post-operative
days (POD) 1 and 2 or usual care alone (37). Patient under-went significant
cancer surgery requiring at least 3 days of hospitalization. We assessed
patient burden and patient satisfaction on POD 3 by questionnaire using
Likert scales ranging from 1 to 5. Both groups received identical questionnaires.
Intention-to-treat analyses were done using t-tests.
RESULTS: Of 146 consecutive eligible patients,
126 patients expressed their interest in receiving PIMS (acceptance
rate 86.3%). Reasons to decline were documented. Both groups were similar
at baseline. Post surgery, 91.3% in the PIMS group received acupuncture
(77.8%) and/or massage (95.6%). Efficacy data are reported separately.
The intervention group reported higher patient satisfaction to the questions:
"To what extent does the availability of massage and/or acupuncture
influence the rating of care that you received at the hospital?"
(4.0 PIMS; 2.4 control; range 1-5; p<0.0001); "To what extent does
the availability of massage and/or acupuncture influence the likelihood
of your recommending this hospital to others?" (4.0 PIMS; 2.4 control;
p<0.0001) and "To what extent would the availability of massage
and/or acupuncture influence your decision in which hospital you would
prefer to receive surgery?" (3.3 PIMS; 2.0 control; p=0.0001).
The likelihood of overall recommending this hospital to others (irrespective
of PIMS) was similar in both groups (4.85 PIMS; 4.72 control; p=0.25),
however chances to find a difference were limited by ceiling effects.
Mean study burden was minimal and similar in both groups, (1.06 PIMS;
1.11 control; p=0.43) showing no increased burden from acupuncture and
massage.
CONCLUSION: The trial of post-operative acupuncture
and massage had a high acceptance rate in hospitalized cancer patients.
Compared with usual care alone, the combination of acupuncture and massage
was not perceived as increasing patient burden and was associated with
improved patient satisfaction. These findings support the feasibility
of conducting clinical research of acupuncture and massage on hospitalized
cancer patients.
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