IntroductionUremic pruritus (UP) is a common and distressing symptom in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Many approaches have been tested to improve UP without a clear success. We aimed to assess the effect of sertraline on UP in hemodialysis (HD) patients.MethodsThis research is a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicentric randomized clinical trial which included sixty patients maintained on regular HD. Patients were allocated to receive sertraline 50 mg twice daily or placebo for 8 weeks. The Visual analogue scale (VAS) and the 5-D itch scale were used to assess pruritus before and after the course of treatment.ResultsAt study end in sertraline group, there was a significant decrease from baseline findings in the VAS score (p< 0.001), and the 5-D itch scale (p< 0.001). On the other hand, in placebo group the VAS score showed a slight non-significant decrease (p= 0.469), and the 5-D scale (p= 0.584) increased from baseline measurements. The percentage of patients with severe and very severe pruritus decreased significantly in the sertraline group in both scores [(VAS score:p= 0.004), (5-D itch score:p= 0.002)] with no significant change in the placebo group [(VAS score:p= 0.739), (5-D itch scale:p= 0.763)]. There was a significant positive relation between the VAS and 5-D itch scores and serum urea withpvalue of 0.002 and 0.001 respectively, and serum ferritin withpvalue of < 0.001 with both.ConclusionsPatients treated with sertraline had a significant improvement in pruritus as compared with those who received placebo suggesting a potential role for sertraline to treat uremic pruritus in HD patients. Larger randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05341843. First registration date: 22/04/2022.