Background: Pruritus is the most distressing symptom in hemodialysis patients. Its etiology has not yet been delineated thus, there are no good therapeutic options. Serotonin has been reported to be a mediator of uremic pruritus while ondansetron is a potent and selective inhibitor of 5-HT3 receptors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ondansetron on uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients.

Materials and Methods: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, 70 patients undergoing hemodialysis with moderate and severe itching were enrolled. They were randomly divided into two groups: one group received ondansetron 8 mg three times daily and the other group was given loratadine 10 mg two times a day for 2 weeks. Pruritus scores were recorded by the patients and the mean scores were compared before and after intervention.

Results: Changes in VAS scores after treatment with ondansetron and loratadin were both significant (p=0.001), but the difference between ondansetron and loratadin was not significant (p=0.8).

Conclusion: The results showed that ondansetron was as effective as loratadin in controlling renal itch.

Background: Hemodialysis is the most common method of treatment in patients with end-stage renal diseases (ESRD). Given the importance and the role of permeability of hemodialysis membranes in removing the materials and particles, they were divided into two categories Low and High Flux.This study aimed to compare the effects of membranes in removing electrolytes and particles in ESRD patients.

Materials and Methods: In a crossover clinical trial, blood sampling from 30 patients undergoing hemodialysis was done in two sessions of hemodialysis using a Low Flux and High Flux membrane from arterial lines before and after hemodialysis in order to assess and compare the amounts of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, urea and creatinine was taken. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software.

Results: The mean age of samples was 47.46±10.74 years and 70% were men and 30% were women. Urea and phosphorus uptake was significantly higher in the high flux membrane (p=0.017)(p=0.006) respectively. Other parameters did not show significant differences between the two filters (p>0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of research and high flux membrane features, we propose a high flux filter regularly be used in hemodialysis in the absence of specific ban.