Key clinical point: In real world clinical practice, combination of tacrolimus ointment and dupilumab was an effective and safe treatment option for facial atopic dermatitis (AD).
Major finding: On 16 weeks of treatment, a significant decrease was observed in average scores including Investigator’s Global Assessment, overall Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), and head/neck EASI ( P less than .0001). Moreover, the rate of improvement in head/neck EASI scores significantly correlated with the rate of improvement in the overall EASI scores (Pearson’s r, 0.61; P less than .01). None of the patients developed herpes simplex, whereas 2 patients developed conjunctivitis.
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective chart review of 109 patients with moderate-to-severe AD who initiated dupilumab, of which 60 patients also used tacrolimus ointment. Of these, 20 patients used tacrolimus ointment without any topical steroids.
Disclosures: This work was supported by grants from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The authors did not declare any conflicts of interest.
Source: Matsutani M et al. J Dermatol. 2021 Jun 22. doi: 10.1111/1346-8138.16039 .