Chronic Pruritus in Geriatric Inpatients: Implementation of a guideline-compliant basic topical therapy

Purpose Chronic pruritus (CP) is a common condition in older adults, affecting quality of life. However, data on CP in hospitalised geriatric populations is scarce, especially in Germany. This study aims to address this by examining the prevalence, severity and impact of CP in cognitively capable geriatric inpatients, exploring associations with multimorbidity, medications and daily functioning. The study also examines the feasibility of a two-month lipid-enriched emollient therapy, a basic therapy recommended in the guidelines, with the aim of improving care for this vulnerable group. Methods : Participants applied the lipid-rich cream twice daily for two months. Three questionnaires were completed at baseline and at study conclusion. Results : The study established that 8.4% of the hospitalised geriatric patients in our sample suffered from CP, with a mean DLQI score of 3.23 ± 2.7, indicating a mildly low quality of life. Furthermore, analysis of the mean numeric rating scale (NRS) score for the worst pruritus in the preceding four weeks revealed an improvement from 6.5 ± 2.2 before the intervention to 4.3 ± 4 after the intervention. Geriatric assessment scores indicated limited mobility and a high level of care dependency. Conclusions : The DLQI demonstrated only a moderate impact on quality of life, likely attributable to questions that were not adapted to geriatric patients. Despite suboptimal geriatric assessment scores, the therapeutic intervention resulted in an overall improvement in CP.