Effect of acupressure applied to L4 point on the severity of fistula needle pain in patients: A randomised control trial.

BACKGROUND Patients usually feel pain when a needle is inserted into the fistula. This acute pain can be relieved by acupressure, which is a nonpharmacological application method. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to explore the effect of acupressure application to the Hegu point on the severity of acute pain caused by fistula needle insertion in patients with antecubital arteriovenous fistula. DESIGN It is a randomised control study. PARTICIPANTS The study was conducted with 32 intervention and 32 control patients, recruited from a dialysis centre of a foundation university in Turkey between October 2021 and January 2022. MEASUREMENTS Acupressure was applied 3 min before needle placement in the fistula area of the patients in the experimental group. RESULT While there was no decrease in the severity of acute pain during fistula needle insertion in the patients in the control group, there was a significant decrease in the mean acute pain severity scores experienced by the patients in the experimental group, whose Hegu point acupressure was applied. CONCLUSION The results of this study support the effectiveness of Hegu point acupressure as an effective and low-cost way to reduce the acute pain of needle insertion put on dialysis patients with a fistula. In addition, the results provide a practical reference for acute pain management for dialysis nurses.