Comparative Study of Paracetamol vs Paracetamol Plus Acupressure for Pain Relief in Diabetic Neuropathy Patients

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that causes neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy causes severe pain and needs therapy to relieve its pain. In Indonesia, the therapy uses paracetamol, sometimes combined with acupressure. However, the efficacy of the combination therapy needs to be better understood. Purpose: This study aimed to elucidate the efficacy of paracetamol vs paracetamol combined with acupressure for pain relief in diabetic neuropathy patients. Materials and methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design. Total of 70 participants were agreed to involved in this study. The patients were then interviewed, and their visual analogue scale was assessed. The data was then analysed statistically using Pearson’s correlation. Result: Out of the 70 patients diagnosed with type II DM, 40 had Diabetic Neuropathic Pain (DNP). Shockingly, most of the patients with type II DM and DNP were females, accounting for 33 out of 40 cases (82.50%). The study found a significant correlation between the type of therapy and the decrease in VAS scores for diabetic patients with neuropathic pain (p≤0.05). Patients treated with paracetamol and acupressure showed more improvement in the VAS score than those treated with only paracetamol. Conclusion: The study suggests that the combination treatment could benefit DNP as an analgesic for type II DM patients. Advanced study is required to be performed using larger samples so that accurate data can be obtained. Keywords: Acupressure, Diabetic neuropathic pain, Paracetamol, Type II diabetes mellitus, Visual analogue scale