There is a lack of studies concerning pruritus in patients with chronic leg ulcers. Records were collected by using freshly developed questionnaires for patients and physicians to assess pruritus in patients with chronic leg ulcers. A total of 50 patients with chronic leg ulcers were included in this prospective study. Recurrent pruritus was observed in 32.0% of the participants, whereas 36.0% stated occasional pruritus. The average pruritus intensity was 3.5 points (0-10 numeric rating scale [NRS]) and was observed to increase with age. Patients suffering pruritus achieved a higher Wound-quality of life (QoL) score (32.1) as compared to patients without pruritus (25.8).

Other dermatological findings around the wounds consisted of xerosis (26.0%), eczema (4.0%), and excoriations (2.0%). Pruritus was found in all participants with eczema and 84.6% of those with xerosis. The pruritus generally continued significantly longer in women (average 98.4 months) vs. men (average 37.5 months). Most of the men reported more severe pruritus than women (4.4 vs 2.8). Many females reported more regular use of skin care products than males. The study concluded according to the recent data that two-thirds of patients with chronic leg ulcers do suffer from moderate intense pruritus. Thus, pruritus is a frequent and often the most neglected problem in all patients with chronic leg ulcers. This should be regularly evaluated and considered in future therapy models.

Source: Jockenhöfer F, Zaremba A, Wehrmann C, et al. Pruritus in patients with chronic leg ulcers: A frequent and often neglected problem.Int Wound J. 2019 Dec; 16(6):1464-1470.