Comparison of the Efficacy of Gabapentin with Loratadine in Patients of Chronic Kidney Disease with Uremic Pruritus

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of gabapentin versus loratadine in reducing the severity of uremic pruritus in
patients of chronic kidney disease and to compare the side effects of both drugs.
Material and Methods: This comparative study was carried out in the Department of General Medicine and
Nephrology, Mayo Hospital, Lahore. 256 patients of uremic pruritus, fulfilling the inclusion criteria, were
enrolled in the study and divided randomly into two groups. Group A received loratadine 10mg daily and group B
received gabapentin 100mg daily, for four weeks. Patients were asked to grade the severity of pruritus on a
Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and also answer the Dermatology Life Quality Index Questionnaire (DLQI).
These proformas were filled once at the start of the study, and then at two and four weeks. Data was analyzed
using version 25.0 of SPSS.
Results: Results showed a notable reduction in severity of pruritus with gabapentin as compared to loratadine
(Group-A: 3.28 vs. Group-B: 4.03, p-value=0.004). Improvement in DLQI score was significantly higher for
patients in gabapentin group (Group-A: 3.44 vs Group-B: 4.25, p-value=0.003). No significant difference was
observed regarding safety profile of both drugs.
Conclusion: Results of this study demonstrate that gabapentin is more effective in reducing severity of pruritus
and improving DLQI score when compared with loratadine. Both drugs are equally safe as no significant
difference was seen in side effects.
Keywords: Chronic kidney disease, Uremic pruritus, Gabapentin, Loratadine