title: Intermittent topical corticosteroid/tacrolimus sequential therapy improves lichenification and chronic papules more efficiently than intermittent topical corticosteroid/emollient sequential therapy in patients with atopic dermatitis.
abstract: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic, relapsing, severely pruritic, eczematous skin disease. Topical steroids are the mainstay of treatment. However, the adverse effects of steroids on hormonal function are the major obstacle for their use as long-term topical therapy. Intermittent dosing with potent topical steroids and/or combination therapy with steroid and tacrolimus have been frequently used in the daily management of AD to overcome the problems accompanying the long term use of steroids. We compared the clinical effects of topical steroid/tacrolimus and steroid/emollient combination treatments in 17 patients with AD. An intermittent topical betamethasone butyrate propionate/tacrolimus sequential therapy improved lichenification and chronic papules of patients with AD more efficiently than an intermittent topical betamethasone butyrate propionate/emollient sequential therapy after four weeks of treatment. Only one out of 17 patients complained of a mild, but temporary, burning sensation after tacrolimus application. The intermittent topical steroid/tacrolimus sequential therapy may be a useful adjunctive treatment for AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakahara
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukagawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchi
authors.forename: Masutaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furue
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000287:Administration, Topical; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004643:Emollients; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004643:Emollients; C011175:betamethasone-17,21-dipropionate; D001623:Betamethasone; D016559:Tacrolimus