Abstract

Background: Pain is a major dilemma for patients undergoing hemodialysis due to the arteriovenous fistula puncture procedure. Pain associated with this procedure can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life, both physical and mental. It is important to understand the philosophy of pain understand, the underlying causes of pain related to fistula puncture, and to find appropriate solutions for managing pain. Study Objective: Determination of the efficacy of cryotherapy in relieving pain related to arteriovenous fistula puncture using the Rating Analogues and comparison groups participants. Methods and Results: This paper presents the findings of a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of cryotherapy in reducing pain related to arteriovenous fistula puncture in hemodialysis patients. Non-probability (homogenous purposive sample) of 80 participants was split into two groups of 40; the experimental group was treated with cryotherapy, while the comparison group was not. The effectiveness of cryotherapy was measured using the RAS pain intensity scale and the results were compared to the comparison group. The results confirmed that cryotherapy was successful in reducing pain from severe and moderate intensity to mild pain, with a statistically significant p-value of 0.0001. Conclusion and Recommendations: These findings suggest that cryotherapy could be a viable option for reducing the pain of arteriovenous fistula puncture for hemodialysis patients and should be further explored. This research has implications for the clinical application of cryotherapy in pain management and the development of evidence-based nursing practice