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A Clinical Study on the Effect of Massaging Tian Tu Acupoint on Coughing After Esophageal Surgery

A Clinical Study on the Effect of Massaging Tian Tu Acupoint on Coughing After Esophageal Surgery

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07518680
Enrollment
30
Registered
2026-04-08
Start date
2026-04-10
Completion date
2026-05-31
Last updated
2026-04-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Esophageal Neoplasms

Brief summary

This study is a single-center, self-controlled trial. Patients will successively undergo voluntary coughing without intervention, a washout period, coughing stimulated by pressing the Tiantu acupoint, a washout period, and voluntary coughing without intervention. Vital signs of the patients before and after each cough will be recorded, as well as the changes in peak cough flow rate and intra-abdominal pressure after each cough. For peak cough flow rate and intra-abdominal pressure, three sets of data will be collected each time, and the best value will be taken. This pilot trial is conducted to verify the feasibility of the research design and to provide sample size estimation and data support for the main study.

Detailed description

This study is a single-center, self-controlled trial. Patients will successively undergo voluntary coughing without intervention, a washout period, coughing stimulated by pressing the Tiantu acupoint, another washout period, and voluntary coughing without intervention. Vital signs of the patients before and after each cough will be recorded, as well as the changes in peak cough flow rate and intra-abdominal pressure after each cough. Three sets of data will be collected for peak cough flow rate and intra-abdominal pressure each time, and the best value will be taken. The force, angle, and method of pressing are all specified with specific values. The finger pressure is measured by a pressure gauge at 1.59 to 3.45 N, each press lasts for 4 seconds, with an interval of 5 minutes, and is repeated three times. This pilot trial is conducted to verify the feasibility of the research design and provide sample size estimation and data support for the main study. It mainly focuses on patients after esophageal surgery to investigate whether pressing the Tiantu acupoint can effectively improve the coughing ability of patients.

Interventions

OTHERPressing the Tiantu acupoint to stimulate coughing

At the end of inhalation, press the Tiantu acupoint to stimulate coughing. The specific operation method has been mentioned earlier.

Sponsors

Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Voluntarily sign the informed consent form and follow the requirements of the protocol; 2. Age 18 to 75 years old (inclusive), gender not limited; 3. Patients who have undergone esophageal surgery (without intubation); 4. Not taking psychotropic drugs, mentally sound, and likely to cooperate in completing the assessment and intervention.

Exclusion criteria

1. The subjects or their family members request to withdraw from the study; 2. Pregnancy or lactation period; 3. Severe heart and lung diseases (such as heart failure, acute exacerbation of COPD, asthma, etc.); 4. Skin damage or infection in the area of the Tiantu acupoint; 5. Within the last month, have received other cough-related interventions (such as acupuncture, physical therapy); 6. Other situations that the researcher deems unsuitable for participating in this clinical trial

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Cough peak expiratory flow rate at each time pointBaseline, during acupoint stimulation, and 30 minutes post-stimulationThe maximum expiratory flow rate generated in the airway when coughing forcefully and rapidly. Measured by a portable peak flow meter sealed at the patient's mouth during coughing. It is a crucial and objective quantitative indicator for evaluating cough efficiency and the strength of the expiratory muscles.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in intra-abdominal pressure at each time pointBaseline, during acupoint stimulation, and 30 minutes post-stimulationThe change in intra-abdominal pressure is the key driving force for effective coughing and can be used to assess the strength of the cough. Measured by bladder manometry, the baseline value before coughing and the peak value during coughing are recorded, and the difference is calculated to assess cough strength.
Oxygen saturation at each time pointBaseline, during acupoint stimulation, and 30 minutes post-stimulationOxygen saturation (SpO2) recorded from the bedside patient monitor. It can indirectly assess the effectiveness of the patient's coughing after Tiantu acupoint stimulation.
Blood pressure at each time pointBaseline, during acupoint stimulation, and 30 minutes post-stimulationBlood pressure recorded from the bedside patient monitor. Used to assess the safety of Tiantu acupoint stimulation by comparing hemodynamic fluctuations between stimulated and unstimulated coughing.
Heart rate at each time pointBaseline, during acupoint stimulation, and 30 minutes post-stimulationHeart rate recorded from the bedside patient monitor. Used to assess the safety of Tiantu acupoint stimulation by comparing heart rate fluctuations between stimulated and unstimulated coughing.

Countries

China

Contacts

CONTACTMinjie Ju, ScD
2943045720@qq.com19180861785
STUDY_DIRECTORMinjie Ju, ScD

Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 9, 2026