Chronic pruritus is a symptom of various internal disorders. In contrast to dermatological diseases, pruritus does not present with primary skin alterations in these patients. However, intense scratching may cause secondary skin changes such as abrasion, excoriation, prurigo nodularis, or in rare cases even scaring. The most common internal medicine causes for chronic pruritus are chronic kidney disease, hepatobiliary and hematological disorders as well as adverse drug reactions. Pruritus is less commonly seen in patients with endocrine or metabolic diseases, malabsorption syndromes, infectious diseases and solid tumors. The pathogenesis of pruritus in these disorders remains largely elusive, albeit preliminary insights have been gained for uremic and cholestatic pruritus. Antipruritic treatment is therefore symptomatic in most cases and may represent a clinical challenge. The calcium channel blockers gabapentin and pregabalin have the best proven efficacy in chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus. In Japan nalfurafine, a κ-opioid receptor agonist, has been licensed for this indication. UVB light may also attenuate uremic symptoms. In patients suffering from hepatobiliary disorders the sequestrant cholestyramine and the enzyme inducer rifampicin are effective. Furthermore, μ‑opioid receptor antagonists and sertraline may be used to ameliorate cholestatic pruritus. So far, no randomized controlled trials have been performed for chronic itch in other internal medicine disorders. Antipruritic treatment is mainly based on effective therapy of the underlying disease.
Keywords: Cholestasis; Chronic kidney disease; Itch; Lymphoproliferative disease; Underlying disease.