Safety and efficacy of nalfurafine in patients with chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus undergoing hemodialysis

According to a recent study, nalfurafine effectively reduced itching of treatment-resistant chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) patients undergoing hemodialysis. This study’s results were published in the journal, Renal failure.

This phase III multicenter study included 141 patients with refractory CKD-aP, who were randomly assigned in a 2:2:1 ratio to receive 5 μg, 2.5 μg of nalfurafine or a placebo orally in a double-blind manner for 14 days. The primary endpoint of the study was the mean decrease in the mean visual analogue scale (VAS) from baseline.

At the end of the study, the difference in primary endpoint between 5 μg nalfurafine and placebo group was 11.37 mm. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reportedly 49.1%, 38.6%, and 33.3% in 5μg, 2.5 μg of nalfurafine and placebo group, respectively.

From the results obtained in the above study, it can be concluded that oral nalfurafine effectively reduced itching with few significant ADRs in hemodialysis patients with refractory pruritus.