Table 3.
Outcome measurements
| Outcome | Na | Adjusted means (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupressure | Control | Difference between groups Acupressure vs. control |
|||
| RQLQ total score (0–6)b (MCID 0.5) | |||||
| After 2 weeks | 38 | 1.4 (1.1 to 1.7) | 1.7 (1.4 to 2.0) | − 0.3 (− 0.8 to 0.1) | 0.133 |
| After 4 weeks | 36 | 1.0 (0.5 to 1.5) | 1.9 (1.4 to 2.3) | − 0.9 (− 1.6 to − 0.2) | 0.011 |
| After 8 weeks | 35 | 0.7 (0.3 to 1.1) | 1.2 (0.8 to 1.6) | − 0.5 (− 1.1 to 0.1) | 0.113 |
| RMS (0–3)b,d | |||||
| After 4 weeks | 37 | 0.1 (− 1.1 to 1.3) | 2.0 (0.7 to 3.3) | − 1.9 (− 3.8 to − 0.1) | 0.120 |
| After 8 weeks | 35 | 0.0 (− 1.5 to 2.0) | 1.8 (0.4 to 3.0) | − 1.8 (− 4.0 to 0.3) | 0.080 |
| VAS score (0–100) mmb | |||||
| After 2 weeks | 38 | 36.5 (27.2 to 45.9) | 39.0 (29.7 to 48.3) | − 2.5 (− 15.7 to 10.7) | 0.708 |
| After 4 weeks | 38 | 20.0 (9.6 to 30.4) | 41.6 (31.2 to 52.0) | − 21.6 (− 36.3 to − 6.8) | 0.005 |
| After 8 weeks | 33 | 16.7 (5.0 to 28.4) | 31.3 (19.3 to 43.4) | − 14.6 (− 31.4 to 2.1) | 0.085 |
| TNSS (0–12)b | |||||
| After 2 weeks | 38 | 4.3 (3.3 to 5.3) | 5.2 (4.2 to 6.2) | − 0.8 (− 2.2 to 0.6) | 0.231 |
| After 4 weeks | 38 | 3.0 (2.0 to 4.0) | 5.3 (4.2 to 6.3) | − 2.3 (− 3.7 to − 0.8) | 0.003 |
| After 8 weeks | 34 | 2.1 (0.9 to 3.3) | 4.1 (3.0 to 5.3) | − 2.0 (− 3.7 to − 0.4) | 0.019 |
| TNNSS (0–12)b | |||||
| After 2 weeks | 38 | 1.7 (1.0 to 2.5) | 2.7 (2.0 to 3.5) | − 1.0 (− 2.1 to 0.1) | 0.076 |
| After 4 weeks | 38 | 1.2 (0.3 to 2.1) | 2.6 (1.8 to 3.5) | − 1.4 (− 2.6 to − 0.2) | 0.026 |
| After 8 weeks | 33 | 1.1 (0.2 to 1.9) | 1.9 (1.1 to 2.7) | − 0.9 (− 2.0 to 0.3) | 0.137 |
| THK-F (18–54)c autonomic functioning | |||||
| After 4 weeks | 36 | 41.5 (40.2 to 42.8) | 40.9 (39.7 to 42.1) | 0.6 (− 1.2 to 2.4) | 0.505 |
| After 8 weeks | 35 | 41.9 (40.6 to 43.3) | 41.3 (40.0 to 42.7) | 0.6 (− 1.3 to 2.6) | 0.527 |
| SF-36 (0–100)c Phys. component | |||||
| After 4 weeks | 36 | 55.5 (52.8 to 58.1) | 51.7 (49.2 to 54.2) | 3.8 (0.2 to 7.4) | 0.041 |
| After 8 weeks | 35 | 53.9 (51.7 to 56.0) | 53.5 (51.4 to 55.6) | 0.3 (− 2.7 to 3.4) | 0.818 |
| SF-36 (0–100)c mental component | |||||
| After 4 weeks | 36 | 47.2 (42.8 to 51.6) | 48.6 (44.4 to 52.7) | − 1.4 (− 7.5 to 4.7) | 0.649 |
| After 8 weeks | 35 | 48.7 (44.6 to 52.8) | 50.8 (46.8 to 54.8) | − 2.1 (− 7.9 to 3.6) | 0.457 |
| Outcome | Na | RQLQ-related Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acupressure | Control | Difference between groups Acupressure vs. control |
|||
| RQLQ responder rates (%)c | |||||
| After week 4 | 36 | 82.4 | 36.8 | 45.6 | |
| RQLQ effect sizec,e | |||||
| After week 4 | 36 | 0.9 | |||
| After week 8 | 35 | 0.6 | |||
RQLQ Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire, RMS rescue medication score, non-adjusted means, VAS visual analog scale for overall SAR symptoms, TNSS total nasal symptom score, TNNSS total non-nasal symptom score, THK-F trait-constitution questionnaire of Havelhöhe, SF-36 Short form-36 Health Survey, MCID minimal clinically important difference
aNumber shown is the number of randomly assigned patients, analysed numbers vary because of missings
bLower values indicate better status
cHigher values indicate better status
dWithout baseline-adjustment
eEffect size based on adjusted means