Panahi Y, Davoodi S M, Khalili H, Dashti-Khavidaki S, Bigdeli M
Department of Chemical Injury, Baqyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Singapore Med J. 2007 May;48(5):392-5.
Chronic skin lesions are common late complications of sulphur mustard exposure in veterans injured in chemical warfare. Pruritus is the most common complaint in the chronic phase, with significant effects on the patient's quality of life. The current study evaluated the efficacy of a combination of one percent phenol and one percent menthol in the control of pruritus in these affected patients.
This randomised, double-blinded clinical trial was performed in chemical warfare-injured veterans with mustard gas-induced pruritus. 80 subjects were selected randomly and divided into two equal groups. One group was treated with a combination of one percent phenol and one percent menthol twice a day, while the other group received a placebo. The therapeutic effects and side effects were evaluated during a six-week treatment course. Pruritus score with a range of 1-48 points was used to calculate the severity of pruritus before and after treatment in both groups.
The final pruritus score in the drug group was significantly different, compared with the placebo group (p-value equals 0.03). There was also a statistically-significant difference between the pre-treatment (19 points) and post-treatment (15.5 points) pruritus scores in the drug group (p-value equals 0.001), but there was no significant difference in the response in the placebo group (p-value equals 0.66). Only a few patients had complaints about the drug, and these were generally minor. The most common complaints were of the greasy nature of the drug and its intolerable odour.
A phenol one percent and menthol one percent combination has significant therapeutic effects for mustard gas-induced pruritus in chemical warfare-injured veterans, in comparison with the placebo.
慢性皮肤损伤是化学战中受伤退伍军人接触芥子气后常见的晚期并发症。瘙痒是慢性期最常见的主诉，对患者的生活质量有重大影响。本研究评估了1%苯酚和1%薄荷醇联合使用对这些受影响患者瘙痒的控制效果。
本随机双盲临床试验在患有芥子气引起瘙痒的化学战受伤退伍军人中进行。随机选择80名受试者，平均分为两组。一组每天用1%苯酚和1%薄荷醇联合治疗两次，另一组接受安慰剂治疗。在为期六周的治疗过程中评估治疗效果和副作用。两组均采用1 - 48分的瘙痒评分来计算治疗前后瘙痒的严重程度。
与安慰剂组相比，药物组的最终瘙痒评分有显著差异（p值等于0.03）。药物组治疗前（19分）和治疗后（15.5分）的瘙痒评分也有统计学显著差异（p值等于0.001），但安慰剂组的反应无显著差异（p值等于0.66）。只有少数患者对药物有抱怨，且通常较轻微。最常见的抱怨是药物油腻的性质及其难以忍受的气味。
与安慰剂相比，1%苯酚和1%薄荷醇联合使用对化学战受伤退伍军人芥子气引起的瘙痒有显著治疗效果。
