背景 : 便秘是老人常見也是最重要的健康照護問題。文獻顯示穴位按壓可以有效改善便秘，但是需要更多嚴謹的實證研究證據，才能建議將穴位按壓列為治療便秘的方式之一。 目的 : 探討穴位按壓對老人慢性便秘之成效。 方法 : 本研究以兩組、前瞻式、隨機之研究設計進行之，研究對象為北部某醫學中心高齡醫學科患有慢性便秘之住院老人。 59位病人以分層隨機方式分成實驗組 29人及對照組 30人。每次給予四個穴位的穴位按壓共八分鐘，加上腹部按摩五分鐘，每日二次，共執行七天。對照組僅接受一般醫療照護。所有研究對象在研究的第一天接受便秘症狀量表與 Bristol糞便形狀量表測量作為基準，然後在研究期間每天以 Bristol糞便形狀量表、第三及七天以便秘症狀量表做測量。另外，每天對實驗組病患於穴位按壓前後做腹脹人數與腸蠕動次數評估。 結果 : 便秘症狀與 Bristol糞便形狀種類分數，實驗組的改善量皆顯著的優於對照組。實驗組每日腸蠕動次數於調整腹脹效應後隨時間進展而增加，且每日腹脹人數相對發生機率隨時間進展而遞減。 結論 : 穴位按壓可能有效改善老人便秘的症狀。未來仍然需要更多研究驗證本研究結果在臨床上的意義。

Background: Constipation is a common health problem in older adults. Previous study findings have pointed towards acupressure as having possibly positive outcomes for patients with constipation. However, literature reviews have shown that rigorous empirical evidence is still required to establish clear guidelines with regard to the efficacy of prescribing acupressure in constipation treatment. Purpose: Our study intended to examine the effectiveness of acupressure in elderly patients with chronic constipation. Methods: Researchers adopted a two-group prospective, randomized study method. Study participants were recruited from a geriatric ward in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Patients with chronic constipation were invited to participate in the study. Fifty-nine patients were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 29) or control group (n = 30). Acupressure was performed at four acupuncture points for a period of eight minutes plus abdominal massage for five minutes per treatment twice a day for seven days. The control group received standard prescribed medication without supplemental acupressure. All participants received the incident symptom of constipation and Bristol Stool Form Scale measurement immediately prior to acupressure on Day 1, the results of which served as baseline data. The Bristol Stool Form Scale was applied daily and the incident symptom of constipation was applied on Days 3 and 7 of the study. In addition, abdominal distension rates per day and numbers of bowel movements per day were measured daily before and after receiving acupressure for the experimental group. Results: There were significant improvements in constipation symptoms and Bristol Stool Form Scale scores in the experimental group compared to the control group. In the experimental group, frequency of bowel movements per day increased over time after adjusting for the effect of abdominal distension rate, and the odds ratio of the daily number of people with abdominal distension decreased over time. Conclusions: Acupressure has a possible positive effect on symptom relief in elderly patients. Further investigations are required to validate the clinical significance of study findings.