Efficacy and safety of antihistamines in children with atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common inflammatory diseases. This disease is characterized by severe itching, recurrent eczematous lesions and has a heterogeneous clinical picture. AD occurs in all countries, in both sexes, in different age groups. There has been a steady increase in the incidence of AD detection over the past three decades. The prevalence of AD symptoms in various regions of the Russian Federation (RF) ranged from 6.2 to 15.5%. There is no generally accepted classification of AD, the working classification of AD reflects the age dynamics, clinical and morphological forms, severity and stages of the course of the disease. Treatment of AD should be patient-centered and should include prevention of individual trigger factors, restoration of the skin barrier, and a stepwise and gradual approach to reduce inflammation based on the severity of the disease. mGCS are the first-line treatment for exacerbations of AD. Topical calcineurin inhibitors are tacrolimus and pimecrolimus. Pimecrolimus is indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate AD, and tacrolimus is indicated for moderate to severe AD. Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are characterized by low systemic absorption, they do not cause skin atrophy and do not affect the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Systemic corticosteroids should be used only in exceptional cases for short-term treatment of an exacerbation or when starting another systemic therapy. The therapeutic value of 1st generation antihistamines lies in their sedative properties by normalizing nighttime sleep and reducing the intensity of itching. Dimetindene maleate is an effective and safe treatment for relieving symptoms of pruritus and normalizing sleep in patients with AD. Dimetindene maleate has a high safety profile and can be prescribed from 1 month of age.