Comparison of itch characteristics and sleep in patients with brachioradial pruritus and notalgia paresthetica: A retrospective analysis from 2 itch centers

Abstract

To the Editor: Brachioradial pruritus (BRP; compression of the cervical spinal cord or spinal ganglia at the C5/C6 level) and notalgia paresthetica (NP; compression of the dorsal branches of T2-T6 spinal nerves) are 2 neuropathic itch syndromes that are frequently overlooked in clinical settings and are understudied. Despite their different localizations in the spinal cord and clinical presentations (BRP typically causes bilateral pruritus to the forearms, whereas NP results in circumscribed pruritus between the scapulae), these conditions are often grouped together in the literature; thus, little is known about the differences between them. To date, the only prior study directly comparing these 2 conditions found that patients with BRP are more likely to report neuropathic symptoms than patients with NP, and that structural abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging more often correlate with symptom localization in BRP. The present study aims to help us further differentiate these conditions. Using data obtained from 2 itch centers, we compared the demographics, itch characteristics, and sleep characteristics of 1064 patients (768 BRP, 296 NP). Demographics (Table I): Both BRP and NP were more common in females with BRP, at a female:male