Abstract:
Background: Effective pain management during venous access in children is a clinical priority, but evidence on acupressure remains inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure on venous access pain in children.
Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar. Relevant studies were identified using a combination of keywords related to the research objective, covering all available records up to January 15, 2025. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of acupressure on pain intensity during catheter insertion and venipuncture in children versus a control group were included in the review.
Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis included eight studies with a total of 537 pediatric participants. The pooled analysis demonstrated that acupressure significantly reduced pain intensity during peripheral catheter insertion and venipuncture compared to the control group (SMD: -2.30; 95% CI: -3.20 to -1.40; Z = 5.01, P < 0.001, I² = 93.6%). Subgroup analysis further indicated that acupressure effectively decreased pain severity for both peripheral catheter insertion (SMD: -1.99; 95% CI: -3.45 to -0.54) and venipuncture (SMD: -2.61; 95% CI: -3.62 to -1.61), with statistically significant results.
Conclusions: Given that only two studies met high-quality criteria and the certainty of the overall evidence remains very low, the interpretation of findings should be approached with caution. To enhance the robustness of future evidence, there is a pressing need for rigorously designed randomized trials incorporating placebo control groups and proper allocation concealment.
Reference:Hosseini SJ, Yousefabady MA, Hosseini SR, Firooz M. Effect of acupressure on venous access procedural pain in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2025 Jul 26:103219. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103219. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40721012.