Comparative Effectiveness of Acupressure and Eucalyptus Aromatherapy on Headache Severity in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial With a Pretest–Posttest Design

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Dialysis headache is a common complication of hemodialysis that negatively affects patients' comfort and quality of life. Due to the limitations and potential adverse effects of pharmacological treatments in patients with renal impairment, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acupressure and eucalyptus inhalation on headache severity in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Methods This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on patients undergoing hemodialysis at the Salam Dialysis Center in Tehran in 2023. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to three groups: acupressure, eucalyptus inhalation, and control (11 patients in each group). The control group received routine care only. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests in SPSS version 26 at a significance level of 0.05. This randomized controlled clinical trial with a pretest–posttest design was conducted in 2023 at the Salam Dialysis Center in Tehran, Iran. Thirty‐three patients were selected through convenience sampling and randomly allocated into three groups ( n = 11 each): acupressure, eucalyptus inhalation, and control. In the acupressure group, pressure was applied to the HeGu (LI4), Yintang, Taiyang, and GB20 points for 1 min each during the first 20 min of dialysis across three consecutive sessions. In the eucalyptus group, participants inhaled 1 mL of eucalyptus oil from a distance of 30 cm for 5 min at the beginning of dialysis. Headache severity was measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (0–10) before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated‐measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS version 26 (two‐sided tests, α = 0.05). Results The participants consisted of 18 men (54.5%) and 15 women (45.4%), with a mean age of 55.30 ± 14.97 years. No significant differences were observed among the three groups regarding demographic and clinical characteristics ( p > 0.05). No significant differences were observed among the groups at baseline ( p = 1.00). After the intervention, headache severity significantly decreased in both acupressure and eucalyptus groups compared with control ( p < 0.001). The time × group interaction effect was significant ( F (2,30) = 33.76, p < 0.001, η² = 0.692). No significant difference was found between acupressure and eucalyptus groups ( p = 1.00). Conclusion Both eucalyptus inhalation and acupressure demonstrated potential effectiveness in reducing headache severity in patients undergoing hemodialysis. These simple, low‐cost, and non‐invasive interventions may be considered as complementary approaches in dialysis care to improve patient comfort and reduce headache‐related discomfort.