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

Chronic Pruritus in Geriatric Inpatients: Implementation of a guideline-compliant basic topical therapy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Chronic Pruritus in Geriatric Inpatients: Implementation of a guideline-compliant basic topical therapy Carole Elisabeth Berens, Amir S. Yazdi, Leo Cornelius Bollheimer, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6752875/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract 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. Pruritus Quality of Life Geriatric Assessment Prevalence Surveys and Questionnaires Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6752875","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":466215897,"identity":"285c40d0-deb2-4df4-9c99-3105c236db71","order_by":0,"name":"Carole Elisabeth Berens","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9918-139X","institution":"Uniklinik RWTH Aachen: Universitatsklinikum Aachen","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carole","middleName":"Elisabeth","lastName":"Berens","suffix":""},{"id":466215898,"identity":"548f4406-0ce6-44c7-9321-66c6fbce33fd","order_by":1,"name":"Amir S. 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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.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e: Participants applied the lipid-rich cream twice daily for two months. Three questionnaires were completed at baseline and at study conclusion.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e: 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.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e: The DLQI demonstrated only a moderate impact on quality of life, likely attributable to questions that were not adapted to geriatric patients. 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