Gabapentin and oral antidepressants for chronic pruritus: a prospective cohort study evaluating efficacy and side effects in daily dermatological practice

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients treated with systemic medication (N = 31) at baseline.

Demographic and clinical characteristics	No. (%) of all patients (N = 31)	No. (%) of patients treated with gabapentin (N = 25)	No. (%) of patients treated with >1 antidepressants (N = 19)
Sex
Male	23 (74.2%)	17 (65.4%)	10 (62.5%)
Female	8 (25.8%)	9 (34.6%)	6 (37.5%)
Race
Caucasian	30 (96.8%)	24 (96.0%)	19 (100.0%)
Other	1 (3.2%)	1 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)
Atopic diathesis
Yes	11 (35.5%)	7 (28.0%)	11 (57.9%)
No	20 (64.5%)	18 (72.0%)	8 (42.1%)
Itch classification
I. Dermatological	4 (12.9%)	4 (16.0%)	1 (5.3%)
II. Systemic	0	0	0
III. Neurological	1 (3.2%)	1 (4.0%)	1 (5.3%)
IV. Psychogenic	0	0	0
V. Mixed	0	0	0
VI. Undetermined origin (CPUO)	26 (83.9%)	20 (80%)	17 (89.5%)
Pruritus localization
Generalized	25 (80.6%)	19 (76.0%)	15 (78.9%)
Local	6 (19.4%)	6 (24.0%)	4 (21.1%)
Sleep deprivation
Yes	24 (77.4%)	19 (76.0%)	14 (73.7%)
No	7 (22.6%)	6 (24.0%)	5 (26.3%)
Therapeutic history
Topical treatment	31 (100.0%)	25 (100.0%)	19 (100%)
Antihistamines	27 (87.1%)	21 (84.0%)	18 (94.7%)
Phototherapy	15 (48.4%)	13 (52.0%)	9 (47.4%)
Oral corticosteroids	8 (25.8%)	5 (20.0%)	4 (21.1%)
	Median (IQR) in all patients (N = 31)	Median (IQR) in patients treated with gabapentin (N = 25)	Median (IQR) in patients treated with antidepressants (N = 19)
Age, in years
Median (IQR)	66.0 (22.0)	64.0 (24.0)	66.0 (19.0)
Minimum	25.0	25.0	25.0
Maximum	89.0	87.0	89.0
Duration of pruritus, in years	2.0 (9.0)	2.0 (9.5)	3.5 (9.25)
Severity at baseline
Pruritus average NRS score	7.0 (2.0)	7.0 (2.0)	8.0 (2.0)
Pruritus maximum NRS score	8.0 (1.0)	8.0 (1.0)	8.0 (2.0)
DLQI	13.0 (12.0)	13.0 (10.0)	14.0 (11.0)
HADS		15.0 (18.0)]
HADS-A	7.0 (8.0)]	7.5 (8.0)	7.0 (8.0)
HADS-D	6.0 (8.0)	7.0 (8.0)	6.0 (6.0)

Figure 1. Effectiveness outcomes during 24 weeks of gabapentin treatment. (A) Average pruritus NRS and Peak Pruritus NRS; (B). DLQI.