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DOES THERAPEUTIC TOUCH EASE FATIGUE AND DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING HEPATITIS C THERAPY WITH PEGYLATED INTERFERON AND RIBAVIRIN? A RANDOMIZED PILOT TRIAL
A Taylor*, A Peltekian, G Hirsch, C Burgess, KM Peltekian
Hepatology Services, Capital District Health Authority, Halifax, NS; *Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, University of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether therapeutic touch administered during antiviral treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) results in a reduction in anxiety and pain.
DESIGN: Randomized, patient-blinded, controlled trial of either Krieger-Kunz therapeutic touch administered by a trained practitioner or a sham intervention mimicking therapeutic touch delivered weekly for 3 weeks.
PATIENTS: All patients recruited from our Hepatology Services on treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin who provided informed consent form approved by the Capital District Research Ethics Board.
OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in fatigue and depression (see standardized questionnaires below) before and 1 or 2 days after each therapeutic touch session.
RESULTS: A total of 17 patients were accrued with mean (+ SD) age was 52 ± 6 years with 80% males. The genotype-1 comprised 80% of patients, 13% were genotype-2 and 7% genotype-3. The baseline Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was 26 ± 11, the Fatigue Impact Score (FIS) was 86 ± 37, and the Schwartz Fatigue Scale (SCFS) was 18 ± 4. Ten received actual therapeutic touch and 7 sham therapeutic touch therapy. There were no significant differences amongst the 2 groups in baseline characteristics. Therapeutic touch patients were more likely to report less fatigue but this did not achieve significance for SCFS 18 ± 4 versus 16 ± 6 (p=0.827) and for FIS 96 ± 37 and 71 ± 32 (p=0.056). Within FIS only the physical functioning subscale was significantly different (26% improvement in the subscale on healing touch versus worsening of subscale by 9% in the sham intervention (p=0.045). Cognition and psychosocial functioning subscales of FIS also improved by healing touch compared to sham but did not achieve significance.
CONCLUSIONS: In this pilot study of healing touch in patients on pegylated interferon and ribavirin some improvements in FIS was documented. For therapeutic touch to be routinely recommended for patients in this setting larger efficacy with larger trials will be required.