The Effect of Administration of Baby Oil on the Severity of Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Pruritus is one of the most common complications in the hemodialysis patients affecting their quality of life. This study aimed to determine the effect of baby oil on reducing pruritus severity in these patients.

Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on the patients referred to one of the dialysis centers of Kerman, Iran, 2016. A total of 80 patients were selected through convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into two groups of intervention and control. In the intervention group, for four weeks (12 sessions), the researcher applied 3-5 ml of baby oil on the itchy skin for 15 min at the selected center. Data collection was carried out using visual analogue scale (VAS) to measure the pre- and post-intervention pruritus severity. Data analysis was performed in SPSS, version 18, using descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, as well as independent and paired t-tests.

Results: In the pre-intervention stage, the mean pruritus severity score of the intervention and control groups were 5.87±2.43 and 6.21±2.29, respectively, which altered to 3.37±2.11 and 6.28±1.96 after the intervention, respectively (P<0.001). Accordingly, there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of pruritus severity (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Regarding the results of the present study, administration of baby oil decreased pruritus severity in the hemodialysis patients. This cost-effective agent is not associated with major adverse effects; therefore, its administration is recommended.