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Clinical and Hospital Stay Effects of Reiki and Manual Therapy After Open Heart Surgery

NCT05853250 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 272

Last updated 2025-09-18

Study results available
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Summary

Reiki is an energy-based healing therapy using light touch. Manual therapy is a technique using light effleurage. These complimentary healing services are utilized to promote relaxation, sleep, improve emotions, and decrease pain; however, more research is required since sample sizes in the literature were small, subjects were generally healthy (not hospitalized), and subjects had multiple medical backgrounds. Only 1 study focused on cardiac surgery patients. We aim to learn if Reiki and manual therapy enhances postoperative clinical outcomes for patients after first time coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and/or cardiac valve surgery. A randomized, controlled non-blinded study will enroll a sample of a minimum of 272 patient (136 per group), based on a power analysis using the primary outcome. The intervention group will receive usual care plus Reiki and manual therapy, with Reiki delivered first. Total therapies time is 20 minutes. Reiki and manual therapy will be delivered for 3 consecutive days beginning on the day after endotracheal tube removal. The usual care group will receive 20 minutes of uninterrupted rest, which is part of usual postoperative care. Outcomes are depression, anxiety, pain, night time sleep, new onset atrial fibrillation, hospital length of stay, all-cause 30-day hospital readmissions, narcotic drug burden and post-operative complications.

Conditions

  • Coronary Artery Diseases
  • Valvular Heart Diseases

Interventions

OTHER

Reiki/manual therapy

Reiki is delivered by gentle hand placement either on or slightly above the body by certified Reiki practitioners. In this study, Reiki will be delivered first, for 15 minutes and will involve light placement of hands on patients' head, chest, shoulders, hands, knees, and feet (\~ 3 minutes to each body part). Manual therapy techniques include light effleurage to head and feet (for 5 minutes; \~ 2.5 minutes to each body part) by the Reiki practitioner who delivered the Reiki therapy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The Cleveland Clinic

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Sandra Zampino · The Cleveland Clinic

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-06-26
Primary Completion
2019-09-18
Completion
2020-02-05

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05853250 on ClinicalTrials.gov