Cryotherapy intervention in relieving arteriovenous fistula cannulation-related pain among hemodialysis patients at the King Khalid Hospital, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Pain during arteriovenous fistula (AVF) cannulation remains a common problem in hemodialysis (HD) patients that leads to noncompliance to lifetime maintenance HD. This study was performed to determine the effect of cryotherapy on reducing pain during AVF cannulation among HD patients in the King Khalid Hospital, Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is an experimental study which included 62 patients undergoing HD through an AVF. Randomization was used to assign the patients into the experimental (received cryotherapy) and control (no cryotherapy) groups. The Arabic version of Wong-Baker pain rating scale was used to determine the pain score. There was a significant difference in the pre-and post-intervention pain scores among the experimental group, while there was no such difference in the control group. The null hypothesis was rejected based on a P <0.05. Our study suggests that cryotherapy intervention to relieve AVF cannulation-related pain among adult patients undergoing HD is effective. Therefore, it is recommended that cryotherapy should be considered as a complementary intervention to reduce pain related to AVF cannulation.