Saudi journal of kidney diseases and transplantation : an official publication of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Saudi Arabia
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Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl · Sep 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialGabapentin: a promising drug for the treatment of uremic pruritus.
Despite advances made in treatment, uremic pruritus remains a common and distressing symptom in patients on hemodialysis (HD). Gabapentin is an effective drug in the management of neuropathic pain. Considering that neuropathic pain and pruritus share similar pathogenic mechanisms, we conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of gabapentin in controlling uremic itch. ⋯ After four weeks of treatment, the mean decrease in pruritus score in gabapentin and placebo groups was 6.7 +/- 2.6 and 1.5 +/- 1.8, respectively (p< 0.001). None of the patients was forced to drop out of the study due to side effects of the treatment. Our study suggests that gabapentin is a safe and effective treatment for uremic itch.