Chronic pruritus in geriatric inpatients : A descriptive pilot study on a guideline-compliant basic topical treatment

Chronic pruritus (CP) is a prevalent condition in older adults, with a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL), yet data on CP in German geriatric inpatients are scarce.

The study provides descriptive data on the prevalence and severity of CP and its impact on QoL and psychological well-being in cognitively capable geriatric inpatients. Furthermore, the study appraises the feasibility and adherence of a 2-month lipid-enriched emollient treatment, as recommended in current guidelines, with a view to informing and optimizing care for this vulnerable group.

The present pilot study constitutes a prospective, single-center, observational study. Participants were recruited from a geriatric hospital ward in Germany. Over 2 months the cream was to be applied twice daily. Severity, QoL and psychological well-being were assessed before and after the intervention using three validated questionnaires, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the Working Group Pruritus Research (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pruritusforschung, AGP) questionnaire. The data on the geriatric assessment scores, medication and previous illnesses were taken from the medical records.

Among 214 hospitalized patients, 8.4% had CP. After 2 months, all median scores improved: the HADS anxiety and depression from 6 to 3.5 or 4.5, the numeric rating scale (NRS) of the worst pruritus from 7 to 5.5 and the DLQI from 3 to 1.

Despite suboptimal scores in the geriatric assessment, the intervention led to an overall improvement in pruritus severity, QoL and psychological well-being.