The following is a summary of “Assessing disease control in patients with atopic dermatitis by using the atopic dermatitis control tool in daily practice,” published in the October 2024 issue of Dermatology by Chen et al.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin condition that impacts the patients’ QoL. The Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT) estimates the regulation in adults with AD.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine AD control and its associations with demographic factors patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and treatment.
They analyzed 2,066 adults with AD diagnosed by a physician between 2020 and 2022. Questionnaires were sent to assess (ADCT, score ≥7 for uncontrolled), severity, QoL, and weekly average pruritus were measured using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), and numeric rating scale (NRS), respectively, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the linkage between uncontrolled AD, age, sex, and treatment.
The results showed that 863 patients (41.8%) filled out the questionnaire, and 812 were in the analysis; 59% reported controlled AD and uncontrolled AD was associated with higher PROM scores, using only topical anti-inflammatories (adjusted odds ratio ranged from 1.33 [0.995–1.88] to 2.55 [2.21–2.86]). Among those treated with topical anti-inflammatories only, 54% reported uncontrolled AD.
Investigators concluded most patients had controlled AD, but those with uncontrolled AD had more severe symptoms and received only topical anti-inflammatories.
