Response Of Arteriovenous Fistula Puncture-related Pain To Cryotherapy Application In Haemodialysis Patients

Kidney disease occurs when kidney reduces its normal function, less than 30% of normal activity is related to a long-term condition. Therefore, people need to participate in a haemodialysis (HD) programme. In HD, blood is filtered by an external machine, done about three times a week and the access is gained through intermittent vascular cannulation. The patients experience considerable pain due to the frequent insertion of AVF catheters. Hemodialysis patients experience anxiety before needle insertion due to repeated punctures, and over 90% of patients experience acute pain during the process. Puncture-related pain during arteriovenous fistula (AVF) cannulation in particular is a crucial influential factor in quality of life. Cryotherapy is one of the interventions used in several studies to alleviate the arteriovenous fistula puncture-related pain. It can be conduct by using ice packs and the results of the previous studies have also shown its positive effects on the relief of the fistula puncture-related pain in these patients.

Ninety male and female patients with end stage renal disease randomly assigned into three equal groups (n=30) their ages ranged between 30-50: 1. Group A (30 patients) receives ice pack applied on the site of the cannulation, for 20 sessions (3 sessions per week) it introduced for 5-10 minutes before the beginning of the dialysis. 2. Group B (30 patients) receives ice pack applied on contralateral to the site of the cannulation, for 20 sessions (3 sessions per week) it introduced for 5-10 minutes before the beginning of the dialysis. 3. Group C (30 patients) it is a control group this group not received ice pack.