Association of CKD-associated pruritus on wellbeing and sleep quality among hemodialysis patients

The current study determined the prevalence of chronic kidney disease associated pruritus (CKD-aP) and its impact on wellbeing and sleep quality among hemodialysis patients. Furthermore we aimed to quantify the effect of zolpidem versus acupressure in improving the sleep quality. The prevalence of CKD-aP was observed to be 74% in Pakistan and 61.3% in Malaysia. Pakistani patients had poorer quality of life score compared to Malaysian patients (52.0% vs 55.0%). A longer duration of CKD, older age and a higher pruritus score were associated with poor sleep quality. Zolpidem (10mg) was observed to have significant improvement in sleep quality of patients suffering from CKD-aP.