No benefits from bath emollients for childhood eczema

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom currently recommends regular use of “emollient wash products” for children with eczema, despite the fact that little good evidence of their benefit exists. It is therefore heartening that this study has largely addressed that evidence gap: There was no statistically significant difference between those children prescribed one of three bath additives in addition to standard care and those who received standard care alone.

However, there is still the question of whether younger children – particularly those who are bathed daily – might still benefit from bath emollients. Likewise, children who experience recurrent skin infections may derive some additional benefit from emollient bath additives with antiseptic properties.

Carsten Flohr, MD, is with the St. John’s Institute of Dermatology at Kings College London, and Amina Ahmed is a patient panel member at the Centre of Evidence-Based Dermatology in Nottingham, England. These comments are taken from an editorial accompanying the article by Santer et al. (BMJ. 2018 May 2. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k1791.) No conflicts of interest were declared.