Chronic Pain in Patients in Hemodialysis

NCT ID: NCT06311240

Last Updated: 2024-06-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 40 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-05-02
• Study Completion Date: 2024-09-30

Brief Summary

Pain is one of the most common symptoms among patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), and often goes unrecognized or inadequately managed in hemodialysis patients. More than 50% of patients undergoing hemodialysis suffer from pain, with 75% of them being treated ineffectively due to healthcare professionals' lack of awareness of this symptom. Therefore, pain management in this population is a complex and challenging task for healthcare providers. The most prevalent pain syndromes in hemodialysis patients include musculoskeletal disorders, metabolic neuropathies, in addition to typical intradialytic pain.

The aim of this study is to assess the presence and characteristics of chronic pain in patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis to determine whether it is relevant to include the management of chronic pain in the holistic treatment (physical activity, nutrition, and psychological support) already being implemented in various studies for these patients.

Detailed Description

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has an estimated prevalence ranging from 13.4% to 10.6% across stages 1 to 5. These data indicate that CKD is recognized as a major global health issue, with high healthcare costs. Its incidence increases with age, with individuals over 65 years old comprising 40% of CKD patients. Gender differences exist, with males being more affected, although females exhibit greater frailty and severity. This population often presents high comorbidity with other conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases, along with malnutrition, sedentary lifestyles, poor health-related quality of life, low functional capacity, frailty, high levels of dependency, and, recently evidenced, pain. All of these factors are associated with increased mortality risk, exceeding 15% annually. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with advanced CKD and a significant risk factor for peripheral arterial disease and lower limb amputation.

Chronic pain imposes a significant personal and economic burden, affecting over 30% of people worldwide. Unlike acute pain, which serves a protective function, chronic pain may be better considered as a disease itself, with both physical and psychological implications. There has been a growing acceptance of the biopsychosocial model in addressing patients with chronic pain, understanding pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage," according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). This perspective considers pain not only as a purely nociceptive experience but also as a personal experience involving both biological and emotional/psychological components.

Pain is one of the most common symptoms among patients with end-stage CKD, often going unrecognized or inadequately managed. Barriers to proper pain management include limited awareness of the problem, inadequate medical education, and common misconceptions about the inevitability of pain in older adults and HD patients. More than 50% of hemodialysis patients suffer from pain, with 75% of them receiving ineffective treatment due to healthcare professionals' lack of awareness of this symptom. Therefore, pain management in this population is a complex and challenging task. The most prevalent pain syndromes in hemodialysis patients include musculoskeletal disorders, metabolic neuropathies, and typical intradialytic puncture pain.

Patients with chronic pain from musculoskeletal disorders have been shown to exhibit high levels of catastrophizing, fear of movement, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and elevated salivary cortisol levels due to the stress caused by chronic pain and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders as potential causes of pain in CKD patients.

Hormonal alterations at the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) level are frequently observed with worsening renal function. Traditionally, these alterations have been understood as a consequence of renal insufficiency. However, recent evidence suggests the involvement of such hormonal disorders in the genesis of CKD. The HPA axis controls stress responses through a negative feedback mechanism. If chronic pain is considered a stressor, a reciprocal response is triggered, with increased pain activating physiological mechanisms responding to stress, such as elevated cortisol, thereby increasing perceived pain. Chronic pain induces a chronic increase in cortisol and other central mediators of the HPA axis. Cortisol is one of the physiological indices used to quantify stress, with salivary cortisol levels reflecting HPA axis activity and quantifiable non-invasively through saliva samples using ELISA methods. Currently, physiological stress assessment is easily performed by measuring cortisol levels in saliva samples.

There is a gap in the literature regarding this topic as it has not been studied whether patients with advanced-stage CKD undergoing hemodialysis present the same characteristics of chronic pain as other pathologies, such as musculoskeletal disorders.

Methodology Study Type: A cross-sectional observational study will be conducted. Since no previous studies exist, a study with n: 20 will be conducted, and based on this data, the sample size calculation will be performed. Randomization and blinding will not be performed, and no intervention is planned.

Variables

The following measurement variables will be used in this study:

Biomarkers:

• Salivary Cortisol: Physiological stress assessment will be performed simply by measuring cortisol levels in a saliva sample and subsequently analyzed using the ELISA method.

The following questionnaires will be used to measure health condition variables:

• Sleep Quality: The validated Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index will be used.
• Stress: The validated Spanish version of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire will be used.
• Disease Self-Management: The self-efficacy questionnaire will be used.

The following questionnaire and physical variable measurement will be used to measure variables related to chronic pain:

• Chronic Pain Severity Scale: The validated Spanish version of the Chronic Pain Severity Scale will be used.
• Pressure Pain Thresholds (PPT): This variable is used to assess if the patient presents symptoms compatible with central sensitization. Pressure will be applied with an algometer at two bilateral points, the second rib and knee. Each measured subject will be instructed to say 'stop' when the pressure sensation becomes the first sensation of pain. Each measurement will be repeated three times with 10 seconds of rest between them.

The following questionnaire will be used to measure headache-related variables:

• HIT-6: The validated Spanish version of the Headache Impact Test-6 questionnaire will be used.

The following questionnaires will be used to measure behavioral variables:

• Catastrophizing: The validated Spanish version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale will be used.
• Anxiety and Depression: The validated Spanish version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) will be used.

Conditions

Chronic Pain; Chronic Kidney Disease

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Participant with CKD

Participant with CKD answering the questionnaires

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
• Have been on hemodialysis treatment for at least 3 months and are medically stable.
• Able to walk a few steps, even if they require walking aids such as canes or walkers.

Exclusion Criteria

• Myocardial infarction in the past 6 weeks.
• Unstable angina during exercise or at rest.
• Amputation of lower limbs above the knee without prosthetics.
• Cerebrovascular disease such as stroke or transient ischemic attacks in the last 6 months or with significant sequelae affecting lower limb mobility.
• Musculoskeletal or respiratory disorders that worsen with exercise.
• Inability to perform study tests/questionnaires.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Cardenal Herrera University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Eva Segura Ortí

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Miriam Garrigós-Pedrón, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities

Locations

Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa

Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain

Site Status: RECRUITING

Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities

Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain

Site Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Countries

Spain

Central Contacts

Eva F Segura-Ortí, PhD

Role: CONTACT

ESEGURA@UCHCEU.ES

00034961369000 ext. 64439

Miriam Garrigós-Pedrón, PhD

Role: CONTACT

miriam.garrigospedron@UCHCEU.ES

00034961369000 ext. 64439

Facility Contacts

Vicent Esteve-Simó, PhD

Role: primary

vesteve@cst.cat

00 34 937310007

Eva Segura Orti, PhD

Role: primary

ESEGURA@UCHCEU.ES

0034961369000 ext. 64439

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Other Identifiers

02-24-108-003

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id