Nalfurafine hydrochloride (2.5 or 5 μg daily) was effective in the treatment of refractory pruritus in patients with chronic liver disease. Furthermore, no clinically significant ADRs were observed at either dose.

No abstract

Background: Nalfurafine hydrochloride ("nalfurafine"), the world's first selective oral κ-receptor agonist for improving pruritus, is approved in Japan for the treatment of pruritus resistant to existing treatments in hemodialysis (HD) or chronic liver disease patients. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, like HD patients, suffer from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and some experience refractory pruritus. Methods: We investigated the efficacy and safety of nalfurafine in 37 ESRD patients who underwent PD and had refractory pruritus. Nalfurafine was given once daily for 4 weeks at 2.5 μg in weeks 1 and 2 of the treatment period and at 5 μg in weeks 3 and 4. The primary endpoint was visual analog scale (VAS) changes for pruritus (i.e., the value upon rising or before sleep in week 2, whichever larger).