Persistent Post-Burn Pruritus Following Antihistamine Initiation: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study at a Single Italian Pediatric Burn Center

Background/Objectives: An operationally defined unchanged itch-score sequence may indicate persistent symptoms rather than symptom resolution. We described pruritus following antihistamine initiation in children with burns and examined how its apparent stabilization depended on the analytical definition.

Methods

This retrospective single-center study included 247 children. Daily scores were reconstructed from clinical charts using IMS-derived and TPIS-derived coding frameworks. Analyses added during revision examined alternative stability rules, candidate breakpoints, separate tool-specific trajectories and missingness.

Results