title: Use of an emollient as a steroid-sparing agent in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children.
abstract: The effectiveness of an emollient as an adjunct to topical corticosteroid therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis was studied for 3 weeks in 25 children 3 to 15 years of age in comparison with corticosteroid therapy alone. The adjunctive regimen of a once-daily application each of hydrocortisone 2.5% cream and of a water-in-oil cream was equivalent in efficacy to the comparative regimen of twice-daily applications of hydrocortisone 2.5% cream. Both treatment regimens elicited significant improvement in skin condition by day 7 ( p < 0.005) and further significant improvement by day 14 (p < 0.005). No significant differences between the two treatment regimens were observed in the rates of improvement (p > 0.545) or in the reductions in mean lesion size (p > 0.98). No differences were observed in parental evaluations, except for ease of application where a slight preference was expressed for the hydrocortisone 2.5% cream preparation (p < 0.038). We conclude that emollient adjunctive therapy offers a steroid-sparing alternative to topical corticosteroids alone in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis.
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Lucky
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Leach
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laskarzewski
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wenck
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000293:Adolescent; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004643:Emollients / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D004643:Emollients; D006854:Hydrocortisone