title: Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in infants during the first six months of life: authors' observations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a frequent chronic skin disease in infants. It creates great difficulties, both diagnostic and therapeutic.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in infants during the first 6 months of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis comprised 2256 children at the age of not more than 6 months, treated at the 2(nd) Department of Paediatrics and Allergology of the Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital in Lodz, Poland, during seven years. Out of all the patients, children with cutaneous changes were isolated, and the location, type and aetiology of changes were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dermal changes were diagnosed in 471 children, including 391 (17.3% of all the patients) with atopic dermatitis. Out of the children with AD, IgE-dependent allergy was identified in 39.9%. Cow's milk protein was the most frequent sensitising allergen. In 71.6% of the infants, cutaneous changes were disseminated and involved at least two areas of the body. All of them were strongly itching. An applied elimination diet, together with anti-allergic medications in some of the children, provided a clear clinical improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Performed studies demonstrated the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in 17.3% of examined children. The changes in children with AD were disseminated, what was confirmed already at the infantile age. The obtained clinical improvement after the applied therapy indicates a relationship between the observed symptoms and allergic disease.
authors.affiliation: Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Przemysław Oszukowski MD, PhD ; 2 Department of Paediatrics and Allergology, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Barbara Kamer MD, PhD.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kamer
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Paediatrics and Allergology, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Barbara Kamer MD, PhD.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pasowska
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Paediatrics and Allergology, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Barbara Kamer MD, PhD.
authors.forename: Elżbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dółka
authors.affiliation: Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital - Research Institute, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Przemysław Oszukowski MD, PhD.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blomberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmetology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland. Head of Department: Prof. Ryszard Glinka MD, PhD.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rotsztejn
keywords: atopic dermatitis; infants; prevalence