Ondansetron for Treating Itch in Healing Burns

摘要

Itching in healing burn wounds is a significant complaint in patients recovering from burn injuries. Current treatments for this itching are generally not as effective as would be desired. Antihistamines are commonly employed with some success but are far from completely satisfactory. Ondansetron has shown some effectiveness in treating pruritis from nonburn causes. This study is a double blinded, randomized, crossover trial comparing a single dose of 4mg Ondansetron to 25mg Dyphenhydramine for treating itch in healing burn wounds. 19 patients completed the study. 2 were withdrawn for protocol violations. In the remaining 17 patients Ondansetron was more effective than Dyphenhydramine in alleviating the itch (P<.05). While not completely effective, Ondansetron does offer another option in treating patients with pruritis from healing burns.