• Artur Quintiliano, Tayanne Oehmen, Gianna Mastroianni Kirsztajn, and Rodrigo Pegado.
• Department of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, 620 Nilo Peçanha St., Natal, RN, 59012-300, Brazil. artur_bezerra@hotmail.com.
• Trials. 2019 Dec 30; 20 (1): 805.

BackgroundPersistent pain can lead to incapacitation requiring long-term pharmacological treatment. Up to 82% of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) have chronic pain and most do not respond to usual medication. Advances in non-pharmacological treatments are necessary to promote pain relief without side effects and to restore functionality. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) promises to be a novel, cost-efficient, non-pharmacological treatment for CKD patients with chronic pain. In this study, we hypothesize that tDCS could improve pain, depression, functionality, and quality of life in patients with CKD undergoing HD.Methods/DesignWe describe a single-center, parallel-design, double blind randomized, sham-controlled trial. Forty-five subjects with CKD undergoing HD will be randomized to a motor cortex (M1), a dorso lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), or a sham group. A total of ten sessions will be administered to participants over 4 weeks using a monophasic continuous current with an intensity of 2 mA for 20 min. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, immediately after the tenth session, and at 1 week and 4 weeks of follow-up after the intervention. Pain, depression, functionality, and quality of life will be evaluated.DiscussionThe results from this study will provide initial clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of tDCS in patients with CKD undergoing HD.Trial RegistrationBrazilian Clinical Trials Registry/Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clínicos (ensaiosclinicos.gov.br), 1111-1216-0137. Registered on 20 June 2018.

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