Safety of Reiki Therapy for Newborns at Risk for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
Rosanne Marie Radziewicz, Sandra Wright-Esber, Julie Zupancic and 2 others
PMID 29315084WHAT IT FOUND
Reiki was given without observed serious adverse events in newborns at risk for withdrawal.
Heart rate changed during sessions, but withdrawal scores were not shown to change. This cannot show that Reiki treats symptoms.
Key findings
01No serious adverse events related to Reiki administration occurred during the study.
02Heart rate showed statistically significant changes across the before, during, and after time points, while oxygen saturation did not show a statistically significant change.
03NAS scores before and after Reiki were 2.89 and 2.86, but the change was not statistically significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a single-center pilot with a low sample size, so it cannot show whether Reiki improves NAS symptoms. There was no control group or sham Reiki comparison, so changes in heart rate could have come from moving the newborn to a quiet room. The study did not collect how many newborns started pharmacologic treatment for withdrawal after Reiki. Newborns with less than 37 weeks' gestation, severe anomalies, cardiac complications, seizures, respiratory distress, or level III NICU admission were excluded, so the safety finding may not apply to those infants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that Reiki treats neonatal abstinence syndrome. The study showed no serious adverse events and a heart rate change, but NAS scores did not change significantly and there was no control or sham comparison.