ArticleInternational journal of nephrology and renovascular disease2020
Evaluation of Efficacy of Mirtazapine on Pruritus and Serum Histamine and Serotonin Levels in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Before-After Pilot Clinical Trial.
Article in International journal of nephrology and renovascular disease, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- European S2k Guideline on Chronic PruritusActa dermato-venereologica · 2025Guideline
- Mirtazapine revisited: new therapeutic perspectives and formulation advances.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in CKD-Associated Pruritus: A Systematic Review.Kidney medicine · 2025Review
- Prioritized polycystic kidney disease drug targets and repurposing candidates from pre-cystic and cystic mouse Pkd2 model gene expression reversion.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2023Article
- What If Not All Metabolites from the Uremic Toxin Generating Pathways Are Toxic? A Hypothesis.Toxins · 2022Review
- Differential onset time of mirtazapine on pruritus and depression in a patient receiving hemodialysis.SAGE open medical case reports · 2021Article
- Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Mirtazapine in the Treatment of Uremic Pruritus in Hemodialysis Patients: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of research in pharmacy practiceArticle
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) remains a frequent and frustrating symptom in patients with advanced kidney diseases, its optimal treatments are not well defined. Based on its mechanism of action, as a histamine-1 (H1), 5-(hydroxytryptamine) HT2, and 5HT3-receptor blocker, mirtazapine may be effective in the treatment of CKD-aP. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the efficacy of mirtazapine for the treatment of pruritus in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD).
methodsA before-after clinical trial was conducted from September 2018 until March 2019, on 30 HD-patients that had been referred to the HD ward of a tertiary hospital, in Hamadan, Iran. After the 2-week washout period, mirtazapine was administered with a dosage of 15 mg/day for an additional 2 weeks. At baseline and at each dialysis session, the effects of the mirtazapine on the pruritus severity based on the visual analogue scale (VAS) and degree of sleep interference resulting from the pruritus were asked and recorded. Additionally, at the baseline and the end of 2 weeks of treatment, the serum histamine and serotonin levels, as the main chemical pruritogens evoking pruritus symptoms, were also determined.
resultsTwenty-seven patients completed the entire course of the study. Based on the general linear model analysis, a progressive decline in the mean VAS score was observed over time during the study. The mean VAS score decreased from 8.48 ± 1.01 at baseline to 1.04 ±0.79 at the end of treatment (P-value<0.001). Similarly, the mean sleep interference scores were also significantly improved throughout treatment (decreased from 8.07±1.43 to 2.81± 0.74; P-value<0.001). Further, at the end of the treatment, a noticeable decrement in the serum histamine level was also seen (P-value = 0.006). The drug was acceptably well-tolerated and a majority of the patients were satisfied with this treatment.
conclusionThis pilot study suggests that mirtazapine may be an effective treatment option for the management of CKD-aP. However, further studies would be needed to confirm these results.
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