Pruritus and protein-bound uremic toxins in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a cross-sectional study.

"CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT The authors have no competing financial interests to declare."

"Adult patients undergoing maintenance HD who visited three outpatient clinics were eligible for inclusion in this cross-sectional study. Patients aged <20 or >100 years and those who could not answer the pruritus and QOL questionnaires by themselves were excluded. Between August 2017 and April 2018, patients were invited to participate in the study and provided informed written consent independently. The severity of pruritus was assessed using the 5D-itch scale, visual analog scale (VAS), body part affected, and use of medication for pruritus. Serum samples before the dialysis session were collected on the same day as the pruritus survey. This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Central Ethics Committee of Niigata University (No. 2016–0005). This study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Center (UMIN000028464). All the participants provided written informed consent."