Acupressure and prevention of nausea and vomiting during and after spinal anaesthesia for Caesarean section

The efficacy of acupressure at the P6 point in the prevention of nausea and vomiting during and after Caesarean section was studied. A double-blind, r andomized controlled study of acupressure vs placebo was designed. Ninety-f our patients scheduled for Caesarean section were included. The anaesthetic technique and postoperative analgesia were standardized. The use of acupre ssure reduced the incidence of nausea or vomiting from 53% to 23% compared with placebo (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34-0.25; P = 0.002) during the operation and from 66% to 36% compared with placebo (95% CI 0.34-0.19; P = 0.003) after the operation. Other variables were similar between the group s.