Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in CKD-Associated Pruritus: A Systematic Review

Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is a common and burdensome dermatologic condition in which patients can experience various symptoms. This study aimed to summarize and describe the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) used in CKD-aP studies over the past 5 years. A total of 99 studies were identified, which included 5 different PROs and 40 different PROMs. The most frequently evaluated PRO was pruritus (n = 99), followed by health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (n = 31), sleep disturbances (n = 12), psychiatric symptoms (n = 7), and other skin symptoms (n = 5). Among the 40 different PROMs, 19 were generic, 18 were skin-specific, and 3 were CKD-specific. The most commonly used PROMs in the PROs of pruritus, HRQoL, sleeping, and psychiatric symptoms were the visual analog scale (n = 47), dermatological life quality index (n = 8), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (n = 7), and Beck depression inventory (n = 3), respectively. The PROs and PROMs are common and effective tools for evaluating CKD-aP, but more high-quality studies and guidelines are needed to reach a clear consensus on their application.