PracticeUpdate: Dermatology - Vol 1 - No.1 - 2017

during the day (P < 0.0001). The severity of nocturnal pruritus was significantly cor- related with overall itch severity (r = 0.22, P = 0.006). Of the 146 subjects with nocturnal pruritus, 90% reported sleep disturbance. Furthermore, for subjects with nocturnal pruritus, the severity of itch at night corre- lated significantly with the severity of sleep disturbance (r = 0.35, P < 0.0001). The severity of nocturnal pruritus corre- lated significantly with total Itchy Quality of Life score (r = 0.22, P = 0.006), indicating that nocturnal pruritus was associated with an overall reduced quality of life. Specifically, the severity of nocturnal pruri- tus correlated with two of the Itchy Quality of Life subscales: functioning (r = 0.29, P = 0.0004) and emotions (r = 0.18, P = 0.03). Dr Lavery concluded that nocturnal pruri- tus was found to be a common complaint among a wide range of pruritic conditions, and exerts a negative impact on quality of life. The results highlight the need for tar- geted clinical interventions for patients with chronic pruritus. 2017 AAD ANNUAL MEETING 11

Nocturnal pruritus common among pruritic conditions, diminishes quality of life N octurnal pruritus was found to be a common complaint among a wide range of pruritic conditions, and The results highlight the need for targeted clinical interventions for patients with chronic pruritus.

exerts a negative impact on quality of life, report results of a retrospective analysis. Michael Lavery, MD, of Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadel- phia, and colleagues set out to assess the prevalence, characteristics, and impact on quality of life of patients with noctur- nal pruritus. Patients who attended an “itch clinic” from 2015 to 2016 were surveyed. Patients with chronic itch (≥6 weeks) were asked to complete a validated questionnaire assess- ment of pruritus. This itch questionnaire assessed the severity of itch on a numeric rating scale of 0–10 and several associated character- istics, including the presence and severity of nocturnal pruritus and sleep disturbance on a scale of 0–4. A validated quality of life

questionnaire (ItchyQ) was also completed. Questionnaires from 160 subjects were analysed. Mean subject age was 57 ± 16. Ninety-seven (60.6%) of the cohort were female and 63 (39.4%) were male. A total of 146 of the 160 subjects (91.3%) reported suffering from nocturnal pruritus. The most common conditions that co-occurred with nocturnal pruritus were atopic dermatitis, prurigo nodularis, brachioradial pruritus, and psoriasis. Mean itch intensity severity was signifi- cantly high (8.2 ± 2.1). Subjects reported significantly higher itch severity at night vs

PracticeUpdate Editorial Team

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VOL. 1 • NO. • 2017