title: Sertraline as an Additional Treatment for Cholestatic Pruritus in Children.
abstract: Pruritus is a severe symptom accompanying chronic cholestasis. It can be debilitating and difficult to control. In children, first-line treatments are ursodeoxycholic acid and rifampicin. Refractory pruritus may require invasive therapies including liver transplantation. Clinical trials based on small samples of adult patients suggest that serotonin reuptake inhibitors can improve pruritus in cholestatic or uremic disease. We performed a prospective, multicenter study to assess efficiency and safety of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline in treating children with refractory cholestatic pruritus.
  
  
  
  Twenty children experiencing refractory cholestatic pruritus related to Alagille syndrome or progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis were included from 4 centers between 2007 and 2014, and treated with sertraline at a starting dose of 1 mg · kg · day and thereafter individually adapted up to 4 mg · kg · day. Before and after 3 months with therapy, pruritus was assessed using a visual itching scale graded on 10 points, a skin scratch marks score and a sleeping impairment score.
  
  
  
  Sertraline was prescribed at a median daily dose of 2.2 mg · kg · day. After 3 months, pruritus improved in 14 out of 20 treated patients, and the median itching score decreased significantly from 8/10 (5-10) to 5/10 (2-10). Likewise, skin scratch marks and sleep quality improved in 9 of these 14 patients. Nonsevere adverse events were reported in 6 children, leading to treatment discontinuation in 3.
  
  
  
  Our data suggest that sertraline may constitute a useful drug in the management of refractory cholestatic pruritus in children.
authors.affiliation: *Pediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation Unit, Hôpital Bicêtre, Reference Centre for Pediatric Liver Diseases-DHU Hepatinov, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Sud, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre †INSERM UMR-S 1174, University Paris-Sud, Orsay ‡Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department, CHU-Lille, Univ Lille, Lille §Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Unit, Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron ||Pediatric Hepatology Unit, Hôpital Necker-Enfants-Malades, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thébaut
authors.forename: Dalila
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Habes
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gottrand
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rivet
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Debray
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacquemin
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gonzales
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016738:Alagille Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002780:Cholestasis, Intrahepatic / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011537:Pruritus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline