Background
Management of moderate‐to‐severe atopic dermatitis (AD) frequently requires treatment with systemic therapies. Dupilumab is the first biological agent approved for treatment of moderate‐to‐severe AD. Although promising results have appeared in clinical trials, real‐life data on efficacy and safety are lacking.
Objectives
To assess effectiveness and safety of treatment with dupilumab in the real‐life clinical setting at a Danish tertiary referral centre.
Methods
All patients with AD treated with dupilumab from October 2017 to October 2018 at Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark, were included in the study. Patients were evaluated three times: at treatment initiation and at 1 and 3 months after first dupilumab injection. At each visit, disease activity was assessed by severity score (Eczema Area and Severity Index, EASI), patient‐reported outcomes (Dermatology Life Quality Index, DLQI, pruritus and sleep score) and serological markers [immunoglobulin (Ig)E, eosinophil count and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)].
Results
A total of 43 patients were included in the study. The mean reduction in EASI score from baseline was 19.6 points (72.4%) at 1‐month and 22.6 points (76.7%) at 3‐month follow‐up. EASI, DLQI, pruritus score, sleep score, IgE and LDH were all statistically significantly reduced between baseline and 1‐ and 3‐month follow‐up. Mean reductions in EASI score and LDH at 3‐month follow‐up were significantly correlated (P = 0.003). One patient (2.3%) discontinued treatment due to side‐effects, and seven patients (18.4%) developed conjunctivitis during the study period.
Conclusion
The effectiveness and safety of dupilumab treatment in a real‐life clinical setting are comparable to that of phase 3 clinical trials. LDH is suggested as a potential serological marker predictive of treatment response.
AD impacts negatively on the QoL, proportional to the severity of the disease. Furthermore, female sex and facial eczema are associated with low QoL. Positive FLG null mutation status is not associated with QoL or disease severity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.