Wet dressings used with topical corticosteroids for pruritic dermatoses: A retrospective study

BackgroundWet dressings are a mainstay for initial management of pruritic adult dermatoses at Mayo Clinic, yet few recent reports describe their effectiveness for pruritic conditions other than atopic dermatitis in children.ObjectiveTo examine the effectiveness of wet dressings for pruritic dermatoses.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of adult patients admitted to our inpatient dermatology service between January 1, 2004, and August 31, 2007, treated with wet dressings and topical corticosteroids. Improvement was evaluated 1 day after admission and at dismissal.ResultsThree hundred thirty-one patients with pruritus (54 unique diagnoses) had 391 admissions. Improvement was reported for 146 (94%) of 156 admissions at 1 day after admission and for 351 (98%) of 357 admissions at dismissal.LimitationsRetrospective nature of study.ConclusionsWet dressings effectively alleviate recalcitrant pruritic dermatoses in adults. The lack of published reports on this treatment method suggests that wet dressings are underused.