From the *School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; † Division of Biostatistics, University of Texas School of Public Health at San Antonio Regional Campus, San Antonio, Texas; ‡ Research to Advance Community Health Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Regional Campus, San Antonio, Texas; § Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Scienceand Technology, Tao-Yuen, Taiwan; k School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Address correspondence to Yi Chien Chiang, RN, PhD, Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, 261 Wen- Hwa 1 Rd, Kwei-San, Tao-Yuen 33302, Taiwan. E-mail: ycchiang@ gw.cgust.edu.tw Received April 15, 2014; Revised August 7, 2014; Accepted August 7, 2014. 1524-9042/$36.00 Ó 2014 by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.pmn.2014.08.005 Auricular Point Acupressure as an Adjunct Analgesic Treatment for Cancer Patients: A Feasibility Study --- Chao Hsing Yeh, RN, PhD,* Lung-Chang Chien, DrPH, †,‡ Yi Chien Chiang, RN, PhD, § Dianxu Ren, MD, PhD,* and Lorna Kwai-Ping Suen, RN, MPH, PhD k - ABSTRACT : This study aimed (1) to examine the feasibility of an auricular point acupressure (APA) research protocol in terms of recruitment and for the assessment and management of pain and (2) to examine the po- tential APA analgesic effects for cancer patients. This study was a repeated-measures one-group design. Participants were recruited from the cancer center follow-up clinic affiliated with a large univer- sity hospital in the northeastern United States. Participants included 50 patients aged 55-87 years with a diagnosis of cancer. Participants received 7 days of APA treatment for their pain. After appropriate acupoints were identified, vaccaria seeds were carefully taped onto each selected auricular point on each ear. The study recruitment and retention rates were 92% and 91%, respectively. Importantly, the study found preliminary evidence for the analgesic effects of APA for cancer pain management. For example, by the end of the 7-day study, APA reduced pain intensity more than 55% for ‘‘worst pain’’ and about 57% for ‘‘average pain’’ and ‘‘pain intensity.’’ Moreover, the use of pain medication was reduced during the APA treatment (e.g., 78% of pa- tients [n ¼ 39] took less pain medication than before the treatment). APA appears to be highly acceptable to patients with cancer-related pain. However, without a placebo control, we cannot draw conclusive evidence for the analgesic effect of APA for cancer patients. A sham group must be added to future studies to differentiate the true effects of APA from the possible psychological effects of the APA treatment. Ó 2014 by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing Pain Management Nursing, Vol -, No - (--), 2014: pp 1-9 Original Article