Table 2.
Treatment Effects for Perineal Self-Acupressure
| Mean change from baseline | Tr. effect | (95 % Confidence interval) | p value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Control | Treatment | Low | High | ||
| Treatment effects on physical and psychological outcomes after 4 weeks* | ||||||
| Primary outcomes | ||||||
| Patient assessment of constipation | ||||||
| Physical discomfort | −0.23 | −0.84 | −0.61 | −0.88 | −0.34 | < 0.001 |
| Psychosocial discomfort | −0.15 | −0.63 | −0.48 | −0.74 | −0.22 | 0.001 |
| Worries and concerns | −0.14 | −0.82 | −0.68 | −0.95 | −0.40 | < 0.001 |
| Satisfaction | 0.21 | 0.77 | 0.56 | 0.22 | 0.89 | 0.001 |
| All | −0.17 | −0.76 | −0.59 | −0.81 | −0.37 | < 0.001 |
| Secondary outcomes | ||||||
| SF-12v2 | ||||||
| Physical component score | −0.36 | 2.69 | 3.05 | 0.85 | 5.25 | 0.008 |
| Mental component score | 0.30 | 3.12 | 2.82 | −0.10 | 5.74 | 0.061 |
| Modified bowel function index | −4.2 | −18.1 | −13.8 | −22.5 | −5.1 | 0.002 |
| Hemorrhoid symptom score | −0.03 | −0.43 | −0.40 | −0.63 | −0.17 | 0.001 |
* Values are the mean change from the baseline for the treatment and control groups using a Last Observation Carried Forward (LOCF) method for dealing with the nine missing values. All data included. ITT analysis. p values based on heteroskedastic robust standard errors