Study of clinical and laboratory findings in chronic pruritus without any primary skin disease

Abstract

Patients with chronic pruritus are often resistant to routine treatments, and this pruritus disrupts the daily activities of these patients. Therefore, identifying patients whose secondary pruritus is a systemic disease or neuropsychiatric disorders, which can be treated with or controlled by a patient's pruritus,It can be controlled.Given that a comprehensive study about epidemiology of pruritus and comorbidities has not been done so far, this study has been designed to achieve this goal. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 75 patients were referred to the Sina Dermatology Clinic and specialized clinic of the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences witha history of complaining pruritus for more than 6 weeks by simple sampling and with a full-scale method in the first 6 months of year selected.Firstly, a detailed history of the symptoms of pruritus, onset time, comorbidities, and medications was taken from the patients, then a complete physical examination was performed and all the findings were carefully recorded in the questionnaire, and then the patients were tested for blood test to evaluate some of the associated diseases. The results showed that out of 75 patients with chronic pruritus, 49 patients had the cause of pruritus, which was the most common type of pruritus caused by systemic diseases, among which iron deficiency anemia and hypothyroidism were most prevalent.At the next level, there were psychological disorders(most common depression).With a lower incidence of diseases such as polycythemia, bicytopenia, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, anxiety disorders, notalgia paresthetica, vulvodynia, and brachioradial pruritus, in 26 patients we can not find any etiology.