Key clinical point: Patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) are most likely to benefit from long-term 2 mg baricitinib therapy if affected body surface area (BSA) at baseline was 10%-50% and early clinical improvement in itch/skin inflammation was seen after 4-8 weeks of treatment initiation.
Major finding: At week 16, at least 75% improvement in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI75) was achieved by a higher proportion of patients treated with 2 mg baricitinib with baseline BSA 10%-50% vs. >50% ( 37.5% vs. 9.5%) and those with vs. without an early response to 2 mg baricitinib at week 4 (55.4% vs. 16.7%) and week 8 (66.7% vs. 2.1%).
Study details: Findings are post hoc analysis of the ongoing phase 3 BREEZE-AD5 trial including 440 adults with moderate-to-severe AD who were randomly assigned to receive once-daily 1 mg baricitinib, 2 mg baricitinib, or placebo.
Disclosures: This work was funded by Eli Lilly and Company. The authors declared having ties with several sources including Eli Lilly. Four authors declared being current or former employees and shareholders of Eli Lilly.
Source: Silverberg JI et al. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2021 (Nov 30). Doi: 10.1007/s13555-021-00640-7.