Pruritus

Published: 10 August 2020| Version 2 | DOI: 10.17632/9bgdsy894r.2
Contributor:
Yu Hsun Chen

Description

These data demonstrate a rather high prevalence rate of pruritus in geriatric populations (>65-year-old): 54.55%. Hence, the pruritus is much higher than our expectation in geriatric populations, notably at nursing home, so we should lay emphasis on this annoying dermatologic complaint and manage it properly. Interestingly, these data disclose that if the elderly lived aside by the window, the chance of pruritus (40.91%, 9/22) was much lower than that lived far away from the window (81.82%, 9/11), (p=0.026). Thus, we may let the elderly live near the window, and do more outdoor activities to reduce the chance of pruritus. In our data, the prevalence rate of xerosis is high (42.42%, 14/33), among them, as high as 13 people suffering from itch (92.86%, 13/14). As for non-xerosis group, only 5 participants complaining of itch (26.32%, 5/19), (p=0.000). So,the relationship between xerosis and pruritus provides us a strategy to manage this troublesome complaint, maybe dealing with skin dryness such as lotion is efficient to ease pruritus. A noteworthy finding was if subjects experienced itch in their youth (<50-year-old), the greater the chance they suffered from itch when they were aged. Amid itch group, 2 people suffered from itch while they were young (<50-year-old) (11.11%), 5 subjects stated the itchy sensation was milder when they were young (27.78%), and the remaining 11 participants did not experience itch while young age (61.11%). By contrast, among non-itch group, all of them did not experience itch while young age (100%, 15/15) (p=0.025). Moreover, inguinal area involvement seemed to related to more sleep disturbance, 50% of inguinal involved (4/8) complained of sleep quality declined, compared to only 10% (1/10) without inguinal involvement suffered from sleep disturbance, (p=0.06). The number of trunk involved was four, three of them suffering from sleep disturbance (75%), in contrast to this result, the other fourteen without trunk involved, only two complaining of sleep quality declined (14.14%, 2/14), (p=0.017). So we inferred trunk and inguinal involved may exist much higher chance to complain of sleep disturbance compared to other area, such as scalp, back, upper arm, lower limb.

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Dermatology

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