Effective treatment of vascular pain during hemodialysis with auriculotherapy: a report of three cases

Abstract

We report three cases in which patients that experienced vascular pain during hemodialysis were effectively treated with auriculotherapy using microcones (Somareson^®). Case 1: a female patient in her 80s developed shoulder pain during dialysis. Auriculotherapy reduced her visual analogue scale (VAS) score from 74 to 0. Case 2: a female patient in her 50s experienced forearm pain at the site of an arteriovenous fistula during dialysis. Auriculotherapy reduced her VAS pain score from 34 to 6. Case 3: a female patient in her 80s was using a hemofiltration catheter, which had been inserted into her right internal jugular vein, for hemodialysis. She developed right upper arm pain during hemodialysis. Auriculotherapy reduced her VAS pain score from 78 to 0. In all three cases, auriculotherapy was carried out before the pain appeared, and the pain disappeared immediately. Auriculotherapy using microcones might be effective at treating vascular pain in hemodialysis patients.