Wrist Bands Useless for Chemotherapy Nausea: Study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Wrist bands that apply stimulation to acupressure points may reduce nausea from morning or motion sickness, but they do not help control the nausea seen in breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy, new research indicates.

Dr. Joseph A. Roscoe, of the University of Rochester Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues randomly assigned 96 women who experienced nausea at their first chemotherapy session to stimulation with the wrist band at the correct location, stimulation at an incorrect location, or no stimulation.

The women were instructed to wear the band as much or as little as they wanted or needed over the 5-day study period, and were asked to keep track of the total number of hours the band was worn. Standard anti-nausea drugs were given to all patients and the women recorded their use during the study period.

The new findings appear in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

There were no significant differences among the three treatment groups in any of the study outcomes, such as acute or delayed nausea and anti-nausea drug use, Roscoe's team found.

Overall satisfaction with the wrist bands was high. More than one third of the patients wore the band for over 48 hours and over 60 percent wore the band at least 24 hours. Overall, 72 percent of those in the correct location group wore the band at least 24 hours, compared with 53 percent of those in the incorrect location group.

"Further research will be needed to determine if the effectiveness of the acustimulation band is dependent upon the specific cause of the nausea being treated and if there are specific chemotherapy agents or categories of patients, for example, males, for whom the device is effective," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, April 2005.