Table 1. Summary of clinical studies on omega-3 supplements as a therapy in uremic pruritus .
| Authors,Year | Patients | Study Design | Treatment | Duration | Variable | Outcomes |
| Peck et al. 1996 | 25 HD | RCT | Random assignment to daily supplement of 6 g fatty acid esters of either olive oil, fish oil or safflower oil | 8 w | Plasma fatty acid profile; prostaglandin E2; pruritus symptoms assessed by a questionnaire 32 | Significant increase in plasma 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 by fish oil than olive oil or safflower oil, significant increase in 20:3n-9 by olive oil and insignificant increase in 18:2n-6 and 20:4n-6 by safflower oil; Greater increase in PEG2 concentration by fish oil than the equal supplemental dose of olive oil and safflower oil; Greater relief of pruritus symptoms in fish oil group |
| Begum et al. 2004 | 22 HD (12 fish oil, 10 safflower oil) |
RCT | Randomized to ingestion of either 6 fish oil capsules (728 mg omega-3 fatty acids in each capsule) or 6 safflower oil capsules (704 mg omega-6 fatty acids in each capsule) per day | 16 w | Lipoxygenase activity of stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes; Pruritus symptoms assessed by a questionnaire 32 | Higher reduction of LTB4 in fish oil group; Significant decrease in the frequency, but insignificant decrease in overall pruritus score in fish oil group |
| Fiedler et al. 2005 | 11 HD | A short-term, prospective and uncontrolled pilot study | 1.2 g omega-3 fatty acids combined with 11.2 g pectin per day | 12 w | Serum concentrations of CRP, homocysteine, lipoproteins, complement factors, blood gas, blood pressure, heart rate variability, electrocardiography, shunt blood flow and recirculation, peripheral oxygen saturation and itching symptoms assessed by a visual analog scale | No change in the studied parameters except for a significant increase in homocysteine and decrease in VLDL level |
| Ghanei et al. 2012 | 22 HD | RCT, Cross-over |
Random assignment (alternation method) into omega-3-placebo or placebo-omega-3 group, and then daily consumption of 3 g of either fish oil (containing a total of 540 mg EPA and 360 mg DHA) or matching placebo | 20 d | Uremic pruritus symptoms assessed by a questionnaire 32 | Significant decrease in the pruritus symptoms in the omega-3 compared with the placebo group |
Abbreviations: CRP, C-reactive protein; d, day; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; HD, hemodialysis; LTB4, leukotriene B4; RCT, randomized controlled trial, VLDL, very low density lipoprotein; w, week.
*Duo LJ. Electrical needle therapy of uremic pruritus. Nephron, 1987; 47:179-183.