Short-Term Comparative Clinical Outcomes of Acupuncture and Phototherapy in Chronic Generalized Pruritus: A Prospective Study

Objective Pruritus is a common and challenging complaint for both patients and clinicians. The main aim was to compare short-term clinical outcomes of acupuncture and phototherapy in patients with chronic generalized pruritus in a real-world setting. Methods The study included a total of 90 patients, 50 of whom were treated with acupuncture and 40 with phototherapy. Forty patients in the phototherapy group underwent narrowband UVB therapy for 1 month, and 50 patients in the acupuncture group received treatment for 1 month. The severity of pruritus was evaluated with the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at the beginning and first month. Results The acupuncture group included 50 patients, 39 (78%) females and 11 (22%) males, with a mean age of 56.64 ± 14.83 years. The phototherapy group included 40 patients, 25 (62.5%) females and 15 (37.5%) males, with a mean age of 54.93 ± 14.90 years. At baseline, there was no statistically significant difference in VAS scores of pruritus between the phototherapy and acupuncture groups ( p = 0.353); however, at the end of the first month of treatment, the VAS scores were significantly lower in the acupuncture group compared to those in the phototherapy group ( p = 0.008). According to the IGA, the phototherapy group had higher scores than those in the acupuncture group both at baseline and at the end of the first month of treatment ( p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions Our study demonstrated that acupuncture may represent a potential alternative option in selected patients, particularly when phototherapy is not feasible or tolerated. Registration number: “NCT07451353” on 4 March 2026