title: Efficacy of naltrexone in the treatment of chronic refractory itching in burn patients: preliminary report of an open trial.
abstract: Pruritus (itching) constitutes a source of severe distress for burn patients. The authors administered naltrexone to burn patients suffering from itching that was refractory to treatment with antihistamine and anticonvulsant medications to examine the efficacy of this medication as a treatment for pruritus in burn patients. Nineteen burn patients admitted to the Hallym Burn Center at Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital in Seoul, Korea, with burns over 40.32% (+/-18.3) of their total body surface were recruited for this study. The mean number of postburn days before naltrexone treatment was 157.3 days (+/-114.7). The authors observed a significant decrease in itching sensations after 2 weeks of treatment with naltrexone (z = -3.32, P = .001). Scratching activity was also decreased in 44.5% (+/-20.5) of subjects. The authors propose that naltrexone constitutes a potential antipruritic medication for burn patients suffering from treatment-refractory itching.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Cheong Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Kiun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Byung Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.forename: Ihn-Geun
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Jong-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Boung Chul
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011537:Pruritus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009271:Naltrexone