Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): Pain Management in End-Stage Renal Disease - Report of an Early Randomized Controlled Trial.

CONTEXT: Chronic pain in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an increasingly neglected clinical problem affecting more than 60% of patients. Long-term chronic pain could be associated with brain imbalance in circuits of pain matrix and is associated with poor quality of life (QoL) and mood disturbance.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was evaluating the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on pain, QoL, depression, anxiety and affectivity in ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD).

METHODS

This double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial included 30 patients with chronic pain undergoing HD. Participants were allocated to Active tDCS and Sham tDCS and received ten non-consecutive sessions of anodal motor cortex stimulation (M1/Sp2 montage) at 2 mA intensity for 20 min. The primary outcome was pain assessed using numeric rating scale (NRS) and collected at baseline, immediately after the 10th day of intervention, one week, two weeks, and four weeks after the last stimulation. Secondary outcomes included QoL, depression, anxiety and affectivity collected before and after intervention.

RESULTS

A mixed ANOVA model showed significant interaction between group and time on pain F(4.112) = 3.106, P = 0.01 with main effects of group (P = 0.03). Before and after intervention, a significant improvement was observed in QoL (P = 0.009), general health (P = 0.03), fatigue (P = 0.05), symptoms (P = 0.05) depression (P = 0.01) and anxiety (P = 0.01). No difference was found for affectivity.

CONCLUSION

Anodal tDCS over the motor cortex emerges as a potential therapeutic approach for improving pain, QoL, and mood in patients with ESRD.