Pushing the Boundaries of Topical Therapy in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Review of Baseline Disease Severity and Burden in Clinical Trials - Summary - MDSpire
To assess baseline disease severity among patients in clinical studies of topical therapies for atopic dermatitis (AD) and compare it with pivotal clinical trials of systemic therapies.
Approach:
Study Design: A review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of topical therapies for AD published between January 1, 2010, and May 1, 2025, was conducted, focusing on baseline disease severity assessments.
Data Extraction: Data were extracted from 59 RCTs, including baseline mean data for various disease severity assessments such as EASI, affected BSA, SCORAD, IGA, itch NRS/VAS, POEM, and DLQI.
Key Findings:
Many patients with AD in topical therapy RCTs had high disease burden.
Patient-reported disease burden in topical therapy RCTs overlapped substantially with that reported in systemic therapy pivotal RCTs.
Topical therapies may be effective in patients with more extensive AD.
Interpretation:
Limitations:
Few studies exclusively assessed pediatric AD.
Baseline IGA and SCORAD were not widely reported, limiting comprehensive comparison.
by Melinda J. Gooderham, H. Chih-ho Hong, Charles Lynde, Yvette Miller-Monthrope, Vimal H. Prajapati, Julien Ringuet, Irina Turchin, Jensen Yeung, Kim A. Papp
