BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Dermatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1627955
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Innovative Therapies for Rare Inflammatory Skin DiseasesView all 15 articles
Dupilumab relieves pruritus both in uremic pruritus and in atopic dermatitis with chronic kidney disease: A retrospective real-world study
Provisionally accepted
- Sichuan provincial people's hospital, Chengdu, China
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Background Treatment methods for pruritus in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are lacking. Exploring the therapeutic potential of dupilumab in alleviating pruritus in CKD patients has good clinical value. Objectives This retrospective study aims to analyze the effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients with CKD and uremic pruritus (UP) patients. Methods Demographic and clinical data from AD patients with CKD stages 3-5 and UP patients who received dupilumab treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Improvements in pruritus were assessed via Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS) and 5-D itch scale (5-D IS) at weeks 2, 4, 12, and 16. Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT) scores were also recorded at week 16 in AD patients with CKD. Safety during treatment was observed. Results After dupilumab treatment, the PP-NRS and 5D-IS scores of 12 AD patients with CKD and 10 UP patients were significantly decreased. The percentages of UP patients who achieved PP-NRS ≥ 4-point improvement and 5D-IS ≤ 10-point at week 4, 12, and 16 did not significantly differ from those of AD patients with CKD (p > 0.05). At week 16, the skin symptoms in AD patients significantly improved (66.67% achieved EASI-75). No significant adverse effects were found. Conclusions Dupilumab safely and effectively reduced pruritus in UP patients in the short term and achieved a comparable anti-pruritus effect to AD patients with CKD.
Keywords: atopic dermatitis, Chronic Kidney Disease, Dupilumab, effectiveness, Pruritus
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Yang, Zhou, Zhong, Liu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lixia Zhang, Sichuan provincial people's hospital, Chengdu, China
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