Pruritus in Advanced Disease

Abstract

Pruritus is a prevalent symptom in many skin conditions. However, much less is known about pruritus unassociated with primary skin disease. This latter problem is of major relevance to most medical specialties, notably palliative care, haematology, oncology, internal medicine, hepatology, nephrology, anaesthesiology, immunology, and psychiatry. Specialists in these non-dermatological disciplines each see a few patients with severe pruritus and, therefore have only limited possibilities to learn from their personal experience. In response to the need for information on pruritus in non-dermatological disciplines, this book aims to build a bridge of relevant knowledge and evidence between the various non-dermatological specialties. Pruritus can cause considerable discomfort in patients with cancer, patients receiving treatment for cancer, and patients with non-malignant terminal illnesses. Some knowledge about the pathophysiology of certain types of pruritus exists in different clinical specialties. This book brings this information together. An international group of contributors cover the neurophysiology and clinical assessment of pruritus, the measurement of scratching activity as well as opioid-induced pruritus, pruritus in haematological disorders, neuropathic pruritus and psychogenic pruritus, and the treatment of pruritus in these different clinical settings.