Qutenza (Topical Capsaicin 8%) for Painful Arteriovenous Fistulae
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2017-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Arteriovenous fistulae are artificial connections between the artery and vein in the arm
which allow needles to be inserted for haemodialysising patients wit kidney failure.
Occasionally severe debilitating pain can arise from these fistulae for which no cause can be
found. Such pain can be very difficult to treat. Many commonly used used painkillers are
known to cause significant side effects in patients with renal failure (drowsiness, confusion
etc.
Qutenza (topical capsaicin 8%) is a new treatment made from chilli peppers which is applied
to the skin as a patch and works directly at the nerve endings in the skin to prevent pain.
It therefore should not have the systemic side effects of other drugs. It has been
demonstrated to be beneficial in other painful conditions for example post-shingles pain and
nerve pain from HIV. It has never been used for critical ischaemia before.
We propose to investigate the efficacy of Qutenza in treating patients with end stage renal
failure and chronic pain from their fistulae (AVF). We will recruit 20 patients with painful
AVF and treat them with Qutenza. We will follow them up for 12 weeks and monitor the change
in their pain scores.