A novel, team-based approach to management of severe or difficult to control atopic dermatitis in children was associated with a 39.1% decrease in the body surface area (BSA) affected. Almost half (48.5%) of the patients treated with the approach achieved a score of 75 or above on the Eczema Area and Severity Index. These data are being presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting.

“Barriers to effective disease management in patients with severe/difficult to control disease include: [f]ragmented care, [i]nconsistencies in treatment plans, [and v]ariation/lack of education material. [The Multidisciplinary Atopic Dermatitis Program] MADP clinic provides an effective model given the positive data analysis & overall successes in treating these patients,” wrote lead author Safiyyah Bhatti, MD, University of California, San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital, and colleagues.

The MADP is a specialized clinic which is a collaboration between the divisions of dermatology and allergy/immunology. Strategies include monthly clinic visits, standardization of electronic medical record intake forms, guidelines-based education modules, and shared-decision-making processes.

Researchers analyzed patient- and provider-reported outcomes of 33 subjects. The percentage of BSA affected declined with each consecutive visit. The mean decrease by visit 2 was 18.9%. It was 31.7% by visit 3 and 39.1% by visit 4 (all p<.001).

By visit 2, the mean validated investigator global assessment scores decreased by 1 (p<0.001); by visit 5, the score decreased by a mean of 2 (p=0.010 and N=7).

The patient-oriented eczema measure reached its greatest mean decrease of 5.7 (p<.001) by visit 3; the children's dermatology life quality index scores reached their greatest mean decrease of 9.69 (p=.002) by visit 4; and pruritus reached its greatest mean decrease of 2.86 (p<.001) by visit 3.

Reference
Bhatti S, Tracy A, Loop L, et al. Multidisciplinary atopic dermatitis program: a novel approach to managing difficult-to-control atopic dermatitis patients. Poster presented at: AAD Annual Meeting; March 25-29, 2022. Boston, MA.