Generalized pruritus as a presenting symptom in Nigeria.

In a retrospective study of 4000 consecutive dermatologic patients seen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital Skin Clinic, 268 patients (6.7%) had generalized pruritus without obvious skin diseases. Filariasis was responsible for the pruritus in 57% of these patients; 21% was bath-related pruritus, and the reasons for this were highlighted. In 6% of cases, pruritus was thought to be due to intolerance to environmental heat; 9.7% was due to miscellaneous causes. Pruritus from systemic diseases accounted for 3.7%. Causes for the pruritus were not elicited in 2.6% of the patients.