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Background: Chronic pruritus is a multifactorial, challenging symptom of global relevance., Objective: The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Network on Assessment of Severity and Burden of Pruritus (PruNet) investigation aimed to analyze the severity and humanistic burden of chronic pruritus in patients suffering from inflammatory dermatoses across Europe., Methods: Prospectively collected routine data on 552 patients (with atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, prurigo nodularis, psoriasis vulgaris, lichen planus, or mycosis fungoides [pruritus numeric rating scale score ≥3]) from 9 European centers (in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey) were analyzed by univariate and multivariate variance analyses of various itch characteristics and quality of life (as measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the ItchyQoL)., Results: Duration, frequency, and intensity of pruritus (according to a numeric rating scale and visual analog scale) and related impairment of quality of life differed between European centers and dermatologic diagnoses (P < .05). The country in which the center was located had a greater impact on how patients evaluated pruritus intensity and quality of life than diagnosis did (P < .001)., Limitations: One center per country was included., Conclusion: The humanistic burden of chronic pruritus in patients with inflammatory dermatoses is high. European cross-cultural factors may have a stronger influence than a specific dermatologic diagnosis on how patients rate intensity of pruritus and quality of life., (Copyright © 2018 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The article reports the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) difference in chronic pruritus appearing to be dependent on baseline itch severity. Topics include how MCID depends on the method of calculation, response to an instrument and anchor measure reliability; and investigating the overall MCID in chronic pruritus using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and numeric rating scale (NRS).

The article discusses the study regarding the use of visual analogue scale (VAS) and the numerical rating scale (NRS) for assessment of itch intensity. Topics discussed include the history and physical examination of patients with pruritus, the cross-cultural differences in disease severity of German and Polish populations, and the use of minimal clinically important difference (MCID).