[Pruritus in childhood. A diagnostic and therapeutic challenge]

From the clinician's point of view, pruritus in children is quite frequent. It mainly occurs along with dermatoses but rarely with systemic diseases such as renal and liver failure or with genetic disorders. Mostly, it appears in the setting of atopic dermatitis (AD). Other frequent differential diagnoses comprise e.g. scabies, impetigo, varicella, tinea, urticaria, mastocytosis and psoriasis. In children, pruritus is most often associated with severe scratching leading to artefacts. This group of patients requires a therapeutical regimen of its own. The use of topical and systemic treatments depends on the underlying aetiology of pruritus and the stage and status of the skin. The physician has to consider that topically applied drugs may cause intoxication due to the different body volume/body surface proportion, especially in newborns and infants. The dosages of systemic drugs need to be adapted in children and UV phototherapy should be performed with caution due to possible longterm photo damage of the skin. Physicians feel more insecurity treating pruritus in children, especially when systemic treatments are taken into consideration. We want to highlight the major aetiologies of pruritus in children and point out the cornerstones of antipruritic therapy in this challenging group of patients in recognition of our own clinical experiences and the current literature.