ArticleClinical kidney journal2025
Difelikefalin for CKD-aP: real world evidence of efficacy and safety in Italian patients.
Article in Clinical kidney journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Real-world effectiveness and safety of difelikefalin for chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus: a systematic review.Renal failure · 2026Pooled it
- Beyond CKD-Associated Pruritus: Paraneoplastic Itch Revealing CLL/SLL in ESRD: A Case Report.The American journal of case reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP), defined as moderate to severe itching directly related to kidney disease, affects about one-third of haemodialysis patients and has been associated with poor quality of life, poor sleep, depression and increased mortality. Difelikefalin (DFK) is the first-in-class therapy approved by Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for this condition. The aim of the present study was to evaluate DFK efficacy and safety in a real-world setting in Italy. Methods: We retrospectively collected data for 20 patients treated with DFK in a compassionate manner, before the drug was commercialized, after obtaining approval by the relevant Ethics Committee for each individual case. Mean age and dialysis vintage were 72 ± 11 years and 54 ± 44 months, respectively; basal WI-NRS (24-h Worst Itching Intensity Numerical Rating Scale) score was 8.2 and 5D-ITCH was 18.6. Scratching lesions were detected in 15/20 patients. DFK was administered intravenously with weight-based dosing at the end of each dialysis session. Results: Eighteen of 20 patients were treated for 12 weeks; 2 patients stopped treatment for dizziness ( Conclusions: In haemodialysis patients affected by CKD-aP, DFK is an effective and safe treatment that might clearly improve this distressing and overlooked condition.
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