Qigong Exercise for Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy and at High Risk for Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Aims and objectives: This study evaluated the effects of a Chinese traditional qigong exercise-monkey frolic in Wuqinxi on depression and quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and at high risk for depression. Methods: In this prospective, randomized-controlled clinical trial, 80 patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and at high risk for depression were randomized to an intervention group or a control group. Participants in the intervention group participated in qigong exercise five sessions each week and also received conventional treatment for 4 weeks; whereas participants in the control group received conventional treatment only. The primary outcome was the change in depressive symptoms as obtained through the Self-Rating Depression Scale. Automatic negative thoughts and quality of life were measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire-core30, respectively. Analyses were based on analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the "intention-to-treat" population, defined as all randomized patients by imputing mean of the column in place of missing data. Results: Seventy-nine participants (98.8%) completed the study, 40 in the intervention group and 39 in the control group. Results of ANCOVA revealed that, compared with the control group, the intervention group reported significantly lower depression scores, fewer negative thoughts, and showed significant improvement in global health status and physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social functions (p < 0.05) following the intervention. Post-treatment scores for all symptoms in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05), except for financial difficulties. No significant differences between the two groups were present in the adverse events (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Qigong exercise may be useful for relieving depression, reducing negative thoughts, and improving the quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Clinical Trial Registry (#ChiCTR2100043417).

Efficacy of Auricular Acupressure for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the efficacy of auricular acupressure on pain and disability for chronic LBP by systematic review. METHODS: A search of randomized controlled trials was conducted in four English medical electronic databases and three Chinese databases. Two reviewers independently retrieved related studies, assessed the methodological quality, and extracted data with a standardized data form. Meta-analyses were performed using all time-points meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 7 trials met the inclusion criteria, of which 4 had the low risk of bias. The findings of this study showed that, for the immediate effect, auricular acupressure had large, significant effects in improving pain within 12 weeks. As for the follow-up effect, the pooled estimates also showed promising effect at 4-week follow-up after 4-week intervention (standardized mean difference = -1.13, 95% CI (-1.70, -0.56), P < 0.001). But, for the disability level, the therapeutic effect was not significant (mean difference = -1.99, 95% CI (-4.93, 0.95), P = 0.18). No serious adverse effects were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: The encouraging evidence of this study indicates that it is recommended to provide auricular acupressure to patients with chronic low back pain. However, a more accurate estimate of the effect will require further rigorously designed large-scale RCTs on chronic LBP for improving pain and disability.