Pruritus ani is a hidden but frequently occurring clinical condition, with a large impact on patients' quality of life. Currently, therapeutic options are scarce, offering mainly limited success. The authors performed a prospective, open-label, two-centre pilot study to analyse the efficacy and safety of a liquid-film forming
acrylate cream for the treatment of
pruritus ani and peri-anal skin irritation. A total of 28 patients were included and applied the cream to the cleansed anal and peri-anal skin once daily for a study period of 3-4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the reduction of
pruritis ani, comparing day 0 to day 28 results. For this purpose, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used. Secondary parameters included the physician global assessment score (
PGA) of peri-anal skin condition, assessment of patients' quality of life using a specifically designed quality of life scoring tool, and patient satisfaction with the treatment regimen. The application of the
acrylate skin protection cream resulted in a fast and substantial improvement of all study parameters, with a high score for patient satisfaction. The cream was well tolerated without any adverse events noted during the study period. The authors' pilot study has generated initial evidence that the
acrylate skin protection cream may be effective for the treatment of
pruritus ani. However, further randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the authors' findings.