• Hui-Qiong He, Wen-Tong Shen, Qin Pei, Jian-Biao Fei, Yue Yu, Hai-Hong Qin, and Guo-Jiang Wang.
• Department of Dermatology, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Science Affiliated Zhoupu Hospital, Shanghai, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 2; 101 (35): e30472.

BackgroundLocalized senile pruritus is a continued health problem for the elderly. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of artemether emulsion on localized senile pruritus.MethodsSixty patients diagnosed with senile pruritus were randomized into the artemether emulsion (1%) group or emulsion base group in a 1:1 ratio (the artemether group vs the control group). The patients used artemether emulsion or emulsion base for pruritus twice daily for 2 weeks. The pruritus visual analog scale (VAS) and the rate of adverse events were evaluated in week 0 and week 2.ResultsThe VAS scores in week 2 after treatment decreased significantly compared with those before treatment in both groups (P < .05). After treatment, patients receiving the artemether emulsion had significantly lower mean VAS scores compared to those who received the emulsion base (1.21 ± 1.64 vs 3.67 ± 2.97, P < .05). When the VAS scores were compared between the 2 groups before treatment, the effective rate of the artemether group was significantly higher than that of the control group (χ2 = 55, P < .05) in week 2 after treatment. Besides, no adverse events occurred in both groups.ConclusionsBoth artemether emulsion and emulsion base were effective in treating localized senile pruritus, and artemether emulsion was superior to emulsion base.Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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