Systematic Review of Mu-Opioid Modulators for Pruritus Treatment in 1,146 Patients

A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines synthesizes findings from 69 studies, including 14 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 795 patients and 55 non-randomized studies with 351 patients. The review, authored by Khalid M. A. Ahmed and last updated in April 2026, evaluates the efficacy and safety of μ-opioid pathway modulators for treating pruritus of dermatologic and systemic origin. It narratively synthesizes results from a search of four databases that initially identified 3,274 records.

Use Cases

• Meta-analysis of treatment efficacy based on reported outcomes from 14 randomized controlled trials
• Safety profile assessment based on adverse event data synthesized from 69 included studies
• Comparative effectiveness research for different μ-opioid modulators (e.g., naltrexone, naloxone) across conditions like atopic dermatitis and uremic pruritus
• Informing clinical trial design based on the identified heterogeneity and gaps in the existing literature

Strengths

• Follows PRISMA guidelines with a registered protocol (PROSPERO CRD420251207101)
• Includes data from 69 studies encompassing 1,146 total patients
• Distinguishes between 14 randomized controlled trials and 55 non-randomized studies

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Substantial clinical and methodological heterogeneity necessitated narrative synthesis rather than meta-analysis

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic literature review of four databases, screened against PRISMA guidelines.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-27 10:01:03; freshness should be verified