Effect of warm footbath on arteriovenous fistula puncture-related pain in dialysis patients

Hemodialysis is a stressful process that can cause some kind of pain experience in more than 50% of patients with renal disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of warm footbath on arteriovenous fistula puncture-related pain in dialysis patients. This clinical trial was conducted in 31 hemodialysis patients in 2013. The patients were selected by simple random sampling method and were placed in one group. The intervention was performed on all patients. Each patient was studied as his own control. The patients were received a 40±2 °C footbath for ten minutes. Then fistula needles were placed and the pain intensity was assessed using a numerical rating scale (the pain ruler). Data were analyzed using ANOVA and T-test. The pain intensity in the warm footbath method was lower than the control method (P<0.05). Warm footbath can be used as an effective palliative method to reduce fistula puncture-related pain in hemodialysis ward.