Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of acupoint autohemotherapy combined with scutellaria baicalensis ointment in the treatment of pruritus in the elderly. Methods Sixty-two elderly patients with pruritus treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to March 2023 were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into treatment group (32 cases) and control group (30 cases). The patients in the treatment group were treated with acupoint autohemotherapy combined with scutellaria baicalensis ointment, and the patients in the control group were treated with scutellaria baicalensis ointment only. The treatment lasted for 4 weeks. The scores of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Xie-Kawashima Itch Scale (Xie-Kawashima), Dynamic Pruritus Scale (DPS) and pruritus-specific quality of life instrument (ItchyQoL) were compared between the two groups before treatment and 1-4 weeks after treatment. Results There were no significant differences in the scores of VAS, Xie-Kawashima, DPS and ItchyQoL between the two groups before treatment. After treatment, the scores of VAS and Xie-Kawashima were gradually decreased in the two groups (P<0.01), especially in the treatment group (P<0.01).One and two weeks after treatment, the score of DPS in the two groups showed no significant difference compared with that before treatment (P＞0.05). From the third week after treatment, DPS score in the treatment group was significantly increased, and was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). After 4 weeks of treatment, the score of ItchyQoL was significantly decreased in the two groups (P<0.01),especially in the treatment group (P<0.01). Conclusions Scutellaria baicalensis ointment can significantly improve the pruritus symptoms and quality of life in the elderly patients with senile pruritus. Acupoint autohemotherapy combined with scutellaria baicalensis Huangqin ointment shows a faster and better effect.

Key words: autohemotherapy, scutellaria baicalensis ointment, pruritus, aged