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Wet dressings used with topical corticosteroids for pruritic dermatoses: A retrospective study
Lucas G Bingham1, Jason W Noble, Mark D P Davis
1Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Background:
Wet dressings are a mainstay for initial management of pruritic adult dermatoses at Mayo Clinic, yet few recent reports describe their effectiveness for pruritic conditions other than atopic dermatitis in children.
Objective:
To examine the effectiveness of wet dressings for pruritic dermatoses.
Methods:
This is a retrospective study of adult patients admitted to our inpatient dermatology service between January 1, 2004, and August 31, 2007, treated with wet dressings and topical corticosteroids. Improvement was evaluated 1 day after admission and at dismissal.
Results:
Three hundred thirty-one patients with pruritus (54 unique diagnoses) had 391 admissions. Improvement was reported for 146 (94%) of 156 admissions at 1 day after admission and for 351 (98%) of 357 admissions at dismissal.
Limitations:
Retrospective nature of study.
Conclusions:
Wet dressings effectively alleviate recalcitrant pruritic dermatoses in adults. The lack of published reports on this treatment method suggests that wet dressings are underused.
