Uremic Pruritus
Conditions
Interventions
Acupuncture Group:Acupuncture
Waiting-List Group:Health counselling and education
Hemodialysis with non-pruritus group :No intervention (only one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning)
Healthy control group:No intervention (only one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning)
Sponsors
Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
40 Years to 65 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: (1) Right-handed, aged 40–65 years; (2) Meets the diagnostic criteria for uremic pruritus (UP), with persistent pruritus for =6 weeks; (3) Has undergone regular hemodialysis or hemodiafiltration (2–3 sessions/week) for =3 months; (4) Moderate-to-severe pruritus (mean weekly 24h-Worst Itch Numeric Rating Scale [24h-WI-NRS] score =4 in the past week, scale 0–10); (5) Single-pool Kt/V (spKt/V) =1.2 and urea reduction ratio (URR) =65% at least once within the past 3 months; (6) Voluntarily participates and provides written informed consent. Note: All six criteria must be met for inclusion
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: (1) Presence of other pruritic skin disorders (e.g., psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, contact dermatitis); (2) Severe chronic liver disease OR alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), or total bilirubin >2× upper limit of normal (ULN); (3) Comorbid malignancies or other severe diseases requiring hospitalization; (4) Severe psychiatric disorders or cognitive impairment (e.g., dementia); (5) Scheduled for kidney transplantation OR planned switch to peritoneal dialysis during the study; (6) Pruritus occurring exclusively during dialysis sessions; (7) Received physical therapies targeting pruritus (e.g., acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, phototherapy) within 1 month; (8) Coagulation disorders OR local skin ulceration at acupuncture sites; (9) Definitive organic brain lesions OR severe cranial anatomical asymmetry; (10) MRI contraindications (e.g., metal implants, claustrophobia); (11) Participation in another clinical trial within 6 months (judged by investigators to interfere with outcomes) OR planned concurrent trial participation; (12) Pregnancy or lactation. Note: Any single criterion above warrants exclusion.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The change in the weekly average 24h-WI-NRS at week 4; | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 14-item uremic pruritus in dialysis patients scale (14-item UP-Dial Scale);Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI);Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7);Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items, PHQ-9;The mean weekly days of pruritus-related medication use at each timepoint. ;Minimum Mental State Examination (MMSE); | — |
Countries
China
Contacts
Public ContactFang Zeng
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Outcome results
None listed