Abstract
Patients with end stage renal failure consider the pain caused
by recurrent fistula cannulations as the most intense stress
they experience from their treatment and the biggest concern
in their lives. One of the fundamental objectives of the nursing
procedures is to relieve this pain. Therefore, this study aimed
to determine the impact of two topical medications, namely
Piroxicam and EMLA cream, on the pain caused by fistula
cannulation among hemodialysis patients. This was a clinical
trial conducted on 75 patients referring to the dialysis unit of
the Shohadaye Ashayer Hospital of Khorramabad, West of Iran,
in 2013. The patients were randomly divided into three groups:
group A (Piroxicam), group B (EMLA cream), and group C
(placebo). The data collection instrument was a questionnaire
consisting of three parts: demographic information, the visual
analog scale (VAS) for pain assessment, and a checklist for the
likely side effects of the medications. The severity of pain during
fistula cannulation was assessed in the three groups in two stages
(before and after the intervention). To analyze the data, the
Kruscal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney statistical tests and SPSS
19 were used. The median for pain relief was obviously higher
in the EMLA cream group than in either the Piroxicam or the
placebo group and this difference was statistically significant
(p<0.001). Comparing the Piroxicam and the placebo showed
that the pain reduction median was much higher in the
Piroxicam group than the placebo group, but the difference was
not significant. The results of this study showed that the EMLA
cream is more effective than the Piroxicam gel in the reduction
of pain caused by fistula cannulation among hemodialysis
patients. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, it
can be suggested that the EMLA cream, as a simple treatment
method which can be applied by the patient himself/herself, be
used to relieve pain during fistula cannulation of hemodialysis
patients.