A Study of Oral Ergocalciferol to Treat Pruritis in Hemodialysis Patients (CRN11)

February 15, 2013 updated by: Mary Schanler, Winthrop University Hospital

A Randomized Prospective, Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Study of Oral Ergocalciferol in the Treatment of Pruritis in Hemodialysis Patients

Pruritis (itching) is common in many people with chronic renal failure on hemodialysis. There may be many different reasons for the pruritis. Efforts to treat the problem have not been very effective.

Vitamin D levels have been found to be low in many hemodialysis patients. Since vitamin D plays an important role in the skin and is effective in treatment of certain skin conditions that involve pruritis, it may have a role in treatment of pruritis in hemodialysis patients.

The objective of the investigators study is to determine the effect of supplementation with oral vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) on pruritis in hemodialysis patients.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Vitamin D2 is a fat soluble steroid hormone precursor which must be hydroxylated in the liver and kidney respectively to make the active form 1-25-Vitamin D. This active metabolite and related analogs have been synthesized and are frequently used in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic kidney disease. However the active metabolite may not be back metabolized to the precursor forms which may have functions in other organs including the skin. Supplementation of hemodialysis patients with oral vitamin D forms would provide a source of precursors for use throughout the body.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Bethpage, New York, United States, 11714
        • Winthop Univ Hospital Outpatient Dialysis at Bethpage
      • Mineola, New York, United States, 11501
        • Winthrop Univ Hospital Outpatient Dialysis

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Hemodialysis treatment for > 3 months
  2. Subjective complaint of excessive itching

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age < 18 years
  2. Failure to provide informed consent
  3. Intact PTH < 70 pg/ml or > 1,000 pg/ml
  4. Serum phosphorus > 7.0
  5. Serum calcium (adjusted for albumin)> 11
  6. Active malignancy
  7. Likelihood of imminent renal transplantation
  8. Current ergocalciferol treatment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Ergocalciferol
Drug: 50,000 Units Ergocalciferol
50,000 Units oral ergocalciferol to be given once weekly
Placebo Comparator: oral placebo
Drug: Placebo
oral placebo once weekly

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severity of Pruritis
Time Frame: Baseline and end of study (up to 12 weeks)

Randomized patients will fill out a survey with questions about the degree and location of their pruritis at baseline and end of study. The total score ranged from 0-21 with 21 being the most severe and zero being the absence of any of the measures of pruritis.

Last observation was carried forward to end of study. A decrease in the Severity of Pruritis score over time indicated an improvement in the severity of pruritis.
Baseline and end of study (up to 12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Winthrop University Hospital

Collaborators

National Kidney Foundation

Investigators

  • Study Director: Steven Fishbane, MD, Department of Nephrology, Winthrop Univ Hospital
  • Principal Investigator: Mary Schanler, MS, RD, Winthrop University Hospital, Outpatient Dialysis

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 29, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 30, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

May 3, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 21, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 15, 2013

Last Verified

February 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10020 (Other Identifier: CTEP)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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