Reiki and related therapies in the dialysis ward: an evidence-based and ethical discussion to debate if these complementary and alternative medicines are welcomed or banned

Martina Ferraresi; Roberta Clari; Irene Moro; Elena Banino; Enrico Boero; Alessandro Crosio; Romina Dayne; Lorenzo Rosset; Andrea Scarpa; Enrica Serra; Alessandra Surace; Alessio Testore; Nicoletta Colombi; Giorgina Barbara Piccoli

doi:10.1186/1471-2369-14-129

Table 2 Characteristics of selected articles

From: Reiki and related therapies in the dialysis ward: an evidence-based and ethical discussion to debate if these complementary and alternative medicines are welcomed or banned

Author, year	Study design	Participants	Measurements	Treatment	Comparison	Outcomes	Results	Side effects	CASP score
So, 2008	Review	24 studies (1153 participants)	VAS, NRS, McGill Pain Index, SF-36, analgesic usage, MPAC, FACT	Touch therapies(TT): Reiki, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch	Sham placebo or ’no treatment’ control	Pain (acute or chronic)	Statistically significant reduction of pain with different treatment, especially with Reiki (95% CI: -1.16 to −0.50)	Not evaluated	7/10
McCormack, 2009	RCT	n=90 elderly patients with post-surgical pain: n=30 non-contact therapeutic touch, n=30 metronome treatment, n=30 no treatment	VAS, MPAC,TAS,HAT,pupil size	Reiki	Routine care, placebo	Post-operative pain	Statistically significant reduction of pain in the Reiki group, worsening of pain in the metronome group (p<0.01)	Not reported	7.5/10
MacIntyre, 2008	RCT, not blinded	n= 290 patients (mean age 64) undergoing first time elective coronary artery bypass surgery n=237 at the end of the study	MEDD, STAI	Healing Touch	Visitors and no intervention	Post-operative pain, anxiety, physical and mental status, length of stay	Significant reduction of hospital stay and anxiety. No significant reduction of pain	Not reported	7.5/10
Frank, 2007	RCT, patients, data collection staff and data analyst blinded	n= 82 females undergoing Stereotactic Core Breast Biopsy: n=42 intervention, n=40 placebo	VAS	Therapeutic Touch (TT)	Sham Reiki	Post-biopsy pain, lidocaine/ epinephrine dosage	Increase of pain in both groups, not statistically significant	Increase of pain in both groups	7.5/10
Assefi, 2008	RCT, patients, data collection staff and data analyst blinded	n=100 adults with fibromyalgia (23 real direct Reiki: 24= real distant Reiki, 23= sham direct Reiki, 23=sham distant Reiki)	VAS	Reiki	Sham Reiki	Pain, fatigue, sleep quality, well-being	Neither Reiki nor touch improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia in all groups	Not reported	7.5/10
Aghabati 2010	RCT	n= 90 patients with cancer and normal level of consciousness, age 15–65: n=30 TT, n=30 placebo, n=30 control	VAS, RFS	Therapeutic Touch (TT)	Mimic therapeutic touch and no intervention	Pain, fatigue	Statistically significant decrease in pain and fatigue in TT vs placebo or control (p=0.04)	Excess energy and anxiety in both groups	8/10

Legend: RCT Randomized Controlled Trial, VAS Visual Analogue Scale, NRS Numeric Rating Score, SF-36 questionnaire for health-related quality of life, MPAC Memorial Pain Assessment Card, FACT Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, TAS Tellegen Absorption Scale, HAT Health Attribution Test, MEDD Morphine-Equivalent Dosage, STAI State Trait Anxiety Inventory, RFS Rhoten Fatigue Scale.

Back to article page