The effects of arnigol cream on pain associated with arteriovenous fistula puncture in patients receiving hemodialysis: A randomized double-blind clinical trial study

Abstract

Background: In each hemodialysis session, hemodialysis patients undergo two vascular punctures with large-diameter needles, which are associated with great pain. The reduction of puncture pain helps these patients accept hemodialysis and enhances their quality of life. Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the effects of Arnigol cream on the pain associated with arteriovenous fistula puncture. Methods: As a double-blind single-group randomized clinical trial, the present study was made on 71 hemodialysis patients. Each patient received an arterial and a venous fistula puncture. One puncture site was randomly allocated to the experiment and the other one to the placebo. Before needle insertion, the experiment and the placebo sites were treated for 10 min with 5 ml of Arnigol cream or Vitamin A and D ointment, respectively. After needle insertion, pain intensity at puncture sites was assessed using a visual analog scale. The data were analyzed using the paired-sample t-test. Results: Participants were 71 hemodialysis patients, 49.3% were female. The mean of participants' age was 56.86 ± 15.10 years, with a range of 22–82. The length of receiving hemodialysis ranged from 4 to 96 months with a mean of 40.36 ± 22.79. Diabetes mellitus was the major cause of renal failure among participants (56.3%). The intensity of pain at the experiment site was significantly lower than the placebo site (2.83 ± 1.60 vs. 3.46 ± 1.57; P = 0.006). Conclusions: This study showed the effectiveness of Arnigol cream in reducing the pain associated with arteriovenous fistula puncture among patients receiving hemodialysis. Thus, nurses are recommended to use this simple, safe, and inexpensive modality to reduce fistula puncture pain.