Frequency of Laboratory Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic Pruritus Admitted to the Dermatology Clinic of Farshchian Hospital in Hamadan, Iran, in 2017

Chronic pruritus is defined as an itching sensation lasting more than 6 weeks. This condition may cause sleep disorders, daily activity disturbance, depression, and eventually impaired quality of life. Several laboratory evaluations have been recommended for patients afflicted with chronic pruritus to find the underlying systemic diseases. However, the general prevalence of systemic diseases in these patients is not specified yet. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to assess the frequency of laboratory abnormalities in patients with chronic pruritus. The findings of the current study may help identify relative factors and diagnose the underlying diseases in these patients. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 patients suffering from chronic pruritus without skin lesions or a history of systemic diseases that may cause pruritus. The recorded data included demographic variables (e.g., age and gender) and laboratory parameters (e.g., erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]), liver function tests, alkaline phosphatase, total and direct bilirubin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen [BUN], fasting blood sugar [FBS], thyroid function tests, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]). The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20). The mean age of the patients was 50.4±15.4 years, and 60% of them were male. According to the results, 40% of the patients had laboratory abnormalities. The most common laboratory abnormalities included the increased levels of FBS (26.6%) and decreased levels of hemoglobin (16.7%), followed by increased levels of alkaline phosphatase (10%), leukocytosis (6.6%), and elevated levels of LDH, ESR, thyroid-stimulating hormone, BUN, bilirubin, and creatinine (each 3.3%). There was no statistically significant difference between the males and females regarding the prevalence of laboratory abnormalities. One patient had lymphocytosis, along with the elevated levels of LDH, and was finally diagnosed with lymphoproliferative disorder. Although the laboratory tests were normal in 60% of the participants, the identification of one case with lymphoproliferative disorder in these patients highlighted the importance of performing a thorough laboratory assessment in these patients.