2015 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 9-17
Uremic pruritus is a very common condition for patients on hemodialysis (HD), considered to decrease QOL and impair the prognosis of those individuals. We herein investigated the efficacy and the proper use of nalfurafine, a new kappa-opioid receptor agonist, on HD patients. Twenty-five HD patients receiving nalfurafine were enrolled in this study after appropriate informed consent. The administration of nalfurafine was once halted and the subjects’ symptoms were monitored, which included itching and sleep disturbances. The concomitant drugs and the cost-benefit effect were also investigated. Thirty-six % of patients were administered nalfurafine as a first choice. Surprisingly, the cost for total medication was reduced to 45% during an interrupted period of nalfurafine, an extremely expensive drug. Only 7 out of 25 patients (28 %) chose the resumption of nalfurafine after a 2-week interruption. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the use of nalfurafine periodically in terms of the validity and health cost-effectiveness of this drug.
