Pruritus among end-stage renal failure patients on hemodialysis

Abstract EN

Pruritus is commonly encountered in individuals with end-stage renal failure (ESRF) on dialysis.

This study was performed in order to find out the prevalence and pattern of pruritus in patients on regular maintenance hemodialysis (HD) as well as to analyze its relationship to age, sex of the patient, site of itching and timing of hemodialysis.

One hundred patients with ESRF (age ranging from 13 to 80 years) free from systemic, skin or psychiatric disorders and other secondary causes attributable to pruritis, undergoing maintenance HD (duration on HD 7-141 months; mean 49.9 and median 43 months) at Samtah General Hospital, Samtah, Gizan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were evaluated for pruritus on two occasions at one week interval by each author independently.

The data were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics viz mean, median and chi-square test.

Pruritus was observed in 27 of 40 males (67.5 %) and 40 of 60 females (66.7 %) with an overall prevalence of 67 %.

It was mild in 34 (50.8 %), moderate in 22 (32.8 %) and severe in 11 (16.4 %).

Sub-group analysis with reference to age and sex revealed that pruritus was significantly more in women aged 45 years and above, when compared with men of similar age-group (p < 0.05) or women below 45 years (p < 0.02).

Pruritus was predominant in spinal dermatomes.

Discomfort of pruritus was more during HD in three (two men and one woman) and HD gave relief for the day in 10 other individuals (four men and six women).

Our study suggests that pruritus is observed in all age-groups and of both sexes of ESRF patients on HD although the intensity and site of itching and relationship to HD sessions varied with individuals.