Acta dermato-venereologica
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Acta Derm. Venereol. · May 2014
Comparative StudyHydroxyethyl starch-induced pruritus: clinical characteristics and influence of dose, molecular weight and substitution.
Severe persistent pruritus is a common, but incompletely characterized, complication of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) infusion. This retrospective study aimed to assess HES-induced pruritus by electron microscopic findings, pruritus characteristics, and response to stimuli, and to determine the impact of HES dosage, molecular weight and substitution. Seventy patients with electron micro-scopy-proven HES-induced pruritus were included. ⋯ Although the median cumulative dose of HES was 300 g, 15% of patients developed pruritus after only 30 g. There were no significant differences between HES 130/0.4 and HES 200/0.5 in pruritus latency, duration or severity. HES-induced pruritus thus may occur at any dose, molecular weight or substitution.