Treatment of refractory vulvovaginal pruritus with naltrexone, a specific opiate antagonist.

OBJECTIVE

Chronic vulvovaginal pruritus can be refractory to standard treatment. Since opioids can induce itching and opioid receptor antagonists have been shown to suppress pruritus of different etiologies, we applied this treatment to patients with vulvovaginal pruritus refractory to conventional therapies.

STUDY

DESIGN

Five women between 24 and 54 years of age suffering from chronic vulvovaginal pruritus were treated with 50mg naltrexone orally once a day for 3 weeks. They documented itching episodes and possible side-effects.

RESULTS

After 1 week of treatment the number of reported itching episodes decreased significantly to almost zero in all five patients. No further episodes of pruritus reoccurred during the following 2 weeks of treatment.

CONCLUSION

Treatment with the opiate antagonist naltrexone offers an alternative treatment option for patients with chronic vulvovaginal pruritus after exclusion of gynecologic, internal, and neurological causes of these symptoms.