Chronic Pruritus: Evaluation of Patient Needs and Treatment Goals with a Special Regard to Differences According to Pruritus Classification and Gender Aspects

BACKGROUND: Chronic pruritus (CP) is present in approximately one-third of all dermatological patients. Diagnostics and treatment are challenging and impair patients' quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse therapeutic needs in terms of the importance of treatment goals in a large sample of patients with CP.

METHODS: Routine data of 2747 patients with CP were analysed with descriptive methods and significance tests (univariate and multivariate variance analyses). The importance of 27 need items was measured using the Patient Needs Questionnaire of the Patient Benefit Index.

RESULTS: The most important needs were to find a clear diagnosis and treatment, to no longer experience itching and to have confidence in the therapy, which were quite or very important to > 90% of the patients. The least important goals concerned a normal working or sex life. Nine needs related mostly to disease and psychological symptoms, and some social needs differed in importance between sexes (P ≤ 0·05). Patients with pruritus on inflamed skin or with chronic scratch lesions judged more than half of all needs as more important than did patients with pruritus on noninflamed skin (P ≤ 0·05). In the multivariate model, age, pruritus intensity and quality of life had a significant effect on the importance of therapeutic needs besides sex and pruritus classification.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CP present high levels of various therapeutic needs with differences by sex and clinical phenotype. The most important needs can be addressed through medical activities such as appropriate itch medication and a trustful doctor-patient relationship.