Effect of topical vitamin D on chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus: An open-label pilot study.

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is a troublesome symptom in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Recently, vitamin D deficiency has been known to be one of the possible etiologic factors in CKD-aP. However, limited data is available on whether topical vitamin D treatment is effective for relieving CKD-aP. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of topically vitamin D for CKD-aP. Twenty-three patients with CKD-aP were enrolled in a single center, open-label study. Patients were instructed to apply a topical vitamin D (calcipotriol) agent (Daivonex solution; LEO Pharma) or vehicle solution twice daily for a month. We assessed the efficacy and safety of topical vitamin D on CKD-aP using clinical and dermoscopic photographs, and questionnaires including the validated modified pruritus assessment score (VMPAS) and visual analog scale (VAS) every 2weeks. Dry dermoscopic findings showed significant improvement of scale (dryness) on the skin of topical vitamin D-treated patients compared with those of the vehicle group. Both VMPAS and VAS were significantly decreased after 2 and 4weeks of the topical vitamin D treatment compared with the vehicle, respectively (P<0.05). No significant side-effects were observed. Topical vitamin D may be one of the safe and effective therapeutic candidates for CKD-aP.