title: Acupressure and preoperative parental anxiety: a pilot study.
abstract: In this randomized sham-controlled study we examined the anxiolytic and sedative effects of acupressure on parents in the preoperative holding area before their children's surgery. Sixty-one parents received acupressure either at the Yintang point (midpoint between the two eyebrows) or at a sham point. Anxiety (as measured by the Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory), arterial blood pressure, and heart rate were assessed before and after the intervention and a Bispectral Index monitor was used to continuously monitor hypnotic sedation levels. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that parents in the acupressure group reported significantly less anxiety at 20 min post-intervention as compared with parents in the sham group (37 +/- 10 versus 45 +/- 13, P = 0.03). Bispectral Index values, heart rate, and arterial blood pressure, however, did not differ between the two study groups (P = not significant). We conclude that acupressure at the Yintang point may be used as a treatment for parental preoperative anxiety. Future studies are needed to quantify the magnitude and duration of the anxiolytic effect.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advancement of Perioperative Health and the Departments of *Anesthesiology and †Pediatrics, and †Child Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Shu-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaal
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maranets
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caldwell-Andrews
authors.forename: Zeev N
authors.initials: ZN
authors.lastname: Kain
mesh_terms: D019050:Acupressure; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011581:Psychological Tests