The effect of Shiatsu massage on agitation in mechanically ventilated patients: A randomized controlled trial

•Agitation is a frequently-observed and serious problem in mechanically ventilated patients.•Shiatsu massage significantly improves the agitation in mechanically ventilated patients.•Shiatsu massage as a complementary therapy can reduce agitation in mechanically ventilated patients. Patients admitted to the intensive care units encounter many complications due to the nature of the disease and invasive medical procedures such as intubation and mechanical ventilation. Among these complications, agitation is a frequently-observed and serious problem. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Shiatsu massage on agitation in mechanically ventilated patients. In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 68 mechanically ventilated patients were selected and then randomly assigned to two groups of intervention and control. Patients in the intervention group received three 5-minute periods of Shiatsu massage with a 2-minute break between them, while patients in the control group only received a touch on the area considered for the message. Data were collected before and after the intervention using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) and then analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA). The results showed that the level of agitation significantly decreased in the intervention group compared to the control group (p=.001). Application of shiatsu massage seems to be effective in managing agitation in mechanically ventilated patients. Further studies with greater sample size and longer follow-up period are needed to confirm the current findings.