Background
Hyperphosphatemia occurs universally in end-stage renal disease(ESRD), and the attainment of target serum phosphate levels remains suboptimal with currently available phosphate binders. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tenapanor in end-stage renal disease patients with hyperphosphatemia.
Methods
Data sources included PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. This meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials evaluating both the efficacy of tenapanor in reducing serum phosphate levels and its safety profile. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for RCTs. The GRADE system was used to assess the overall certainty of evidence. A meta-analysis was carried out by using fixed effects (
I
2
values < 50%) or random effects (
I
2
values ≥ 50%) models to calculate MD with 95% CI for continuous outcome variables and RR with 95% CI for dichotomous variables. Publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots.
Results
A total of seven RCTs involving 877 individuals were included. The pooling analysis demonstrates that the reduction in mean serum phosphorus levels in the tenapanor group was significantly greater than that in the placebo group [MD= −1.06 mg/dl, 95% CI (−1.59, −0.53);
I
2
= 83%,
p
< 0.0001]. The proportion of patients achieving a serum phosphorus level of < 5.5 mg/dL, along with the incidence of any adverse events (AEs) and gastrointestinal disorders, was higher in the tenapanor group compared to the placebo group.
Conclusion
Tenapanor has the potential to significantly reduce serum phosphorus levels and enhance the rate of achieving target levels compared to placebo, all while maintaining an acceptable safety and tolerability profile.
Registration
PROSPERO registration number CRD42024544531.