The Effect of Acupressure on the Severity of Pruritus and Laboratory Parameters in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND

Uremic pruritus is a common boring complaint in patients suffering from chronic renal failure. Owing to cost and the side-effects of medications, complementary therapies are more attractive for pruritus treatment.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of acupressure on the severity of pruritus and some laboratory parameters in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present clinical trial was conducted on 90 patients undergoing hemodialysis who were allocated in intervention, sham control, and negative control groups (30 in each group). Pressure was applied on SP6, SP10, ST36, and LI11 points in the intervention group and on ineffective points for the sham control group. The negative control group received routine care. The severity of pruritus was measured using the numeric rating scale before, two weeks, and five weeks after intervention. The laboratory parameters were measured before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

There was a significant reduction in the severity of pruritus over the course of the study in the intervention and sham control groups (p = 0.001). In addition, significant differences were observed at the end of the intervention in terms of serum phosphorus (p = 0.045) and parathyroid hormone (p = 0.004) levels between groups.

CONCLUSION

Acupressure can improve the severity of pruritus dramatically in hemodialysis patients. It can also reduce serum phosphorus and parathyroid hormone levels, which affect pruritus, significantly. Therefore, this simple and inexpensive intervention may be recommended for reducing uremic pruritus among patients undergoing hemodialysis.