desonide and Pruritus

When encountered in children, xanthomas are most commonly associated with a group of disorders known as familial hyperlipidemias. Aside from cosmetic concerns, these xanthomas are typically asymptomatic, but when generalized pruritus is a prominent associated symptom, clinicians should consider a different set of diagnoses that includes cholestasis of the liver. In this article we present two illustrative cases of children with cholestatic disease, pruritus, and xanthomas and discuss other disorders that may include this triad.

Topics: Abnormalities, Multiple; Alagille Syndrome; Anesthetics, Local; Ataxia; Brain; Child; Child, Preschool; Cholestasis; Coloboma; Desonide; Diagnosis, Differential; Dyslipidemias; Female; Histamine Antagonists; Humans; Liver Diseases; Morpholines; Pruritus; Xanthomatosis

Itch is a common and troubling symptom of atopic dermatitis. It is not mediated by histamine, and standard anti-itch therapies, therefore, have limited benefit for most AD patients. Instead, anti-inflammatory agents are used to reduce inflammation and therefore improve associated itch. Studies confirm that long-term use of corticosteroids can lead to a reduction in pruritus. A pilot study was designed to assess the effects of one week of twice-daily application of desonide hydrogel 0.05% for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Active treatment was associated with significant improvements in IGA scores at day 3 and day 7 (mean score 0.55, 75.83% improvement from Baseline; P <.0001) and pruritus VAS scores at day 3 and day 7 (mean 6.35-point, 86.61% reduction in VAS scores; P <.0001). Treatment with the convenient, hydrating hydrogel formulation is effective and associated with an improvement in subjects' quality of life.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Child; Dermatitis, Atopic; Desonide; Female; Humans; Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; Male; Middle Aged; Pilot Projects; Pruritus; Quality of Life; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult