Pruritus and quality of life in renal transplant patients

BACKGROUND: Pruritus has a negative impact on quality of life (QoL) in dialysis patients. The reversibility of this symptom after renal transplantation and its impact upon QoL has scarcely been studied in these patients. METHODS: Pruritus was evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Visual Rating Scale (VRS), and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) in 133 unselected renal transplant patients, 62 healthy subjects, and 29 hemodialysis patients. QoL was assessed by KDQOL-SF™ 1.3. The reversibility of pruritus was studied by applying retrospectively the VRS. RESULTS: The prevalence of pruritus by the VRS was 62% in hemodialysis patients, 32% in renal transplant patients, and 11% in healthy subjects (P<.001). The prevalence of pruritus among transplant patients was 32% by VRS and 38% by VAS and NRS. The prevalence of pretransplantation pruritus (68%) by the VRS recall questionnaire was higher than the prevalence of pruritus in the same patients after renal transplantation (32%, P<.01). Pruritus in transplant patients was associated with important dimensions of QoL, including social, emotional, and working limitations (P<.05 for the three comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of pruritus markedly reduces after renal transplantation but remains substantially higher than in the general population and impacts upon quality of life in these patients.