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CompletedNCT05571007Updated Oct 7, 2022

Effect of Acupressure on Fatigue in Hemodialysis Patients

An interventional study of True acupressure and Sham acupressure in End-stage Renal Disease, sponsored by Woung-Ru Tang. Completed at 1 site in Indonesia. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 99 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-10-07.

Sponsored by Woung-Ru Tang · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 3 years 2 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jul 2019, registered Sep 2022).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
116
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 99 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of acupressure on fatigue in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis (HD) as well as assess sleep quality and psychological status HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED: Upon intervention completion, the experimental group will exhibit lower severity of fatigue and depression/anxiety and improved sleep quality compared to the control group.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: A randomized controlled trial with experimental and control groups. A total of 116 patients with ESRD who screen positive for fatigue severity ≥ 4 (using a single-item indicator of fatigue, which ranges from 0 to 10 points) will be recruited.

STUDY INSTRUMENTS: Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) INTERVENTION: A 4-week acupressure intervention was performed by the principal investigator (PI) for every subject by applying the rate of two rotations per second, three times a week.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary: fatigue. Secondary: sleep quality, depression, and anxiety.

DATA ANALYSIS: Multiple regression was used to analyze between-group differences in BFI and PSQI, while ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the subscales of the HADS.

EXPECTED RESULTS: The proposed acupressure intervention is useful for alleviating fatigue and related symptoms (sleep quality, depression, and anxiety) experienced by patients with ESRD.

Read the detailed description

The prevalence and impact of fatigue and related symptoms in patients with ESRD have been clearly demonstrated in the literature, which also emphasizes the need for evidence-based interventions targeting symptom management in such patients. The main challenge is identifying an intervention that is not only effective in managing hemodialysis-related symptoms, but also feasible, acceptable, and safe for this patient group. The proposed study primarily aims to test the effects of acupressure intervention on fatigue in ESRD patients receiving HD using the robust study design of a randomized controlled trial.

02

Conditions studied

  • End-stage Renal Disease

Keywords

  • End-stage renal disease
  • Hemodialysis
  • Acupressure
  • Fatigue
  • Sleep
  • Anxiety/depression
03

In context

Kidney Diseases

3,840 studies on the registry are indexed under Kidney Diseases; 500 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 116 is above the median of 70 across 2,640 interventional studies indexed under Kidney Diseases.

Browse Kidney Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Woung-Ru Tang as lead sponsor.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 99 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

    1. Age ≧ 18 years
    1. HD therapy for at least 3 months
    1. Experience of fatigue (fatigue severity ≥ 4, using a single-item indicator of fatigue, ranging from 0 to 10 points)
    1. Absence of lower limb wounds
    1. Did not receive any complementary treatment

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

    1. Diagnosis of major depression or psychiatric disorders
    1. Wound or amputation of the lower extremities, rheumatoid arthritis, or limb fracture
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
116 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    True acupressure

    Using three true acupoints. Acupoints: Yongquan (K1), Sayingjiao (SP6), Zusanli (ST36). Patient Position: Lying or sitting position. Time: first 2 hours of HD.

    Other: True acupressure

  • Sham comparator
    Sham acupressure

    Using three sham acupoints. Acupoints: Sham acupoints are located on 1 cun from the true acupoint. Patient Position: Lying or sitting position. Time: first 2 hours of HD.

    Other: Sham acupressure

Interventions

  • OtherTrue acupressure

    Duration: 3 minutes for each acupoint, applied bilaterally (right and left sides). Total time: 18 minutes/acupressure therapy.

  • OtherSham acupressure

    Duration: 3 minutes for each acupoint, applied bilaterally (right and left sides). Total time: 18 minutes/acupressure therapy.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI)

    A questionnaire will be used to measure the severity of fatigue in the past 24 hours. This 9-item self-reported questionnaire is scored on a 0-10 numerical rating scale, where 0 and 10 represent absence and the highest severity of fatigue, respectively. The BFI score is classified into mild (1-3 points), moderate (4-6 points), and severe fatigue (7-10 points).

    Time frame: Before the intervention (baseline, T0)

  2. Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI)

    A questionnaire will be used to measure the severity of fatigue in the past 24 hours. This 9-item self-reported questionnaire is scored on a 0-10 numerical rating scale, where 0 and 10 represent absence and the highest severity of fatigue, respectively. The BFI score is classified into mild (1-3 points), moderate (4-6 points), and severe fatigue (7-10 points).

    Time frame: Completion of the 4-week intervention (post-test, T1)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    This 19-item self-reported questionnaire is combined to form seven component scores (subjective sleep quality, latency, duration, habit efficiency, disturbances, medication, and daytime dysfunction). Each of these has a range of 0-3 points added to yield a global score with a range of 0-21. A global score higher than five indicates poor sleep quality.

    Time frame: Before the intervention (baseline, T0)

  2. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    This 19-item self-reported questionnaire is combined to form seven component scores (subjective sleep quality, latency, duration, habit efficiency, disturbances, medication, and daytime dysfunction). Each of these has a range of 0-3 points added to yield a global score with a range of 0-21. A global score higher than five indicates poor sleep quality.

    Time frame: Completion of the 4-week intervention (post-test, T1)

  3. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

    This 14-item questionnaire will be used to measure psychological status. This 14-item questionnaire has two subscales: anxiety (seven items) and depression (seven items). It is measured on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (very often), with higher scores indicating an increased level of anxiety/depression. The HADS score is classified as severe (16-21 points), moderate (11-15 points), mild (8-10 points), or no anxiety or depression (≤7 points). It is a valid, trustworthy, and easy measurement tool used by health care providers to identify and quantify anxiety and depression.

    Time frame: Before the intervention (baseline, T0)

  4. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

    This 14-item questionnaire will be used to measure psychological status. This 14-item questionnaire has two subscales: anxiety (seven items) and depression (seven items). It is measured on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (very often), with higher scores indicating an increased level of anxiety/depression. The HADS score is classified as severe (16-21 points), moderate (11-15 points), mild (8-10 points), or no anxiety or depression (≤7 points). It is a valid, trustworthy, and easy measurement tool used by health care providers to identify and quantify anxiety and depression.

    Time frame: Completion of the 4-week intervention (post-test, T1)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • RS Prof Dr Margono Soekardjo Purwokerto
    Purwokerto, Central Java, Indonesia
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 7, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05571007
Lead sponsor
Woung-Ru Tang
Collaborators
Harapan Bangsa University, RS Prof. Dr. Margono Soekardjo Purwokerto
Responsible party
Woung-Ru Tang (Professor, Chang Gung University) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Oct 7, 2022
Start date
Jul 1, 2019
Primary completion
Oct 30, 2019
Completion
Nov 30, 2019
Last update
Oct 7, 2022

Study contacts

Made Suandika, PhDCandidate
principal investigator · School of Nursing, Harapan Bangsa University, Central Java, Indonesia

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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