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TOPLINE:

Symptoms of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) bothered adolescents more than pediatric patients, found a cross-sectional survey.

METHODOLOGY:

• A cross-sectional survey of 200 physicians and 772 patients younger than 18 years of age with moderate to severe AD was conducted across Europe and the United States between February and June 2019.
• Results were based on voluntary self-completion questionnaires by 393 patients aged 0-11 years (pediatric) and 379 patients aged 12-17 years (adolescent).
• Adolescent patients were more likely to receive systemic corticosteroids (24% vs 12%), phototherapy (15% vs 6%), and systemic immunosuppressants (15% vs 6%) (P <.0001 for all) than pediatric patients.

TAKEAWAY:

• More adolescent patients had skin-related anxiety (67% vs 49%; P < .01), interference with daily activities (33% vs 25%; P < .05), and impact on schoolwork (46% vs 37%; P < .05) than pediatric patients.
• Itch was the most bothersome symptom, reported by 38% of adolescents and 37% of younger children.
• Pediatric patients were more likely to report sleep disturbance (18% vs 13%), flares (11% vs 7%), and damage from scratching (8% vs 4%) as the most bothersome symptoms than adolescent patients.
• Adolescents reported embarrassment (P < .0001) and social impact (P = .0003) more often than pediatric patients.

IN PRACTICE:

Both adolescent and younger patients had “high, but differing, disease burden,” the study authors wrote. “This highlights the need to incorporate disease burden in patient encounters and decision-making for patients aged < 18 years and consider the potential value of improved treatment options for both pediatric and adolescent patients with moderate to severe AD, given the evolving treatment landscape.”

SOURCE:

This study was led by Lawrence F. Eichenfield, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, and was published online on April 20 in Pediatric Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

Caregiver reports might not have fully represented child experiences, and selection bias was possible because of voluntary participation. Variations by race and ethnicity were not analyzed because of the small sample size.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by Adelphi Real World (United Kingdom). Two study authors reported being employees of Adelphi Real World, and one reported being an employee and shareholder of Eli Lilly. Several authors reported receiving consulting, speaker, or advisory fees, or serving as board members of various companies and associations.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.