Efficacy of wet-wrap treatment for 13 cases of severe childhood atopic dermatitis: a clinical observation

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of wet-wrap treatment (WWT) for severe childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) . Methods A total of 13 children with severe AD were enrolled from Department of Dermatology of Beijing Children′s Hospital between September 2016 and March 2017, whose diagnosis was based on the Williams′ diagnostic criteria and SCORing atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) score was more than 50. These patients received WWT daily for 3 - 5 days. The changes of SCORAD and visual analog scale (VAS) scores before and after treatment were evaluated. Moreover, 3 patients with symmetrical skin lesions on bilateral limbs were selected, and received WWT (WWT group) and traditional topical treatment (control group) on the bilateral limbs respectively for 3 days. After the treatment, the severity of local skin lesions on the bilateral limbs were evaluated and compared. Results Before the treatment, the SCORAD and VAS scores of the 13 patients were 60.2 ± 9.7 and 7.3 ± 1.8 respectively. Three to five days after the WWT, the SCORAD and VAS scores significantly decreased to 24.7 ± 5.8 and 2.4 ± 1.0 respectively (t = 15.128, 9.385 respectively, P < 0.001) . Of the 13 patients, 12 achieved a more than 50% improvement in SCORAD. After 3-day treatment with WWT in the 3 patients, the severity score of skin lesions was significantly lower in the WWT group than in the control group (t = 7.0, P < 0.05) . Mild adverse reactions to WWT occurred, and 3 patients reported discomfort induced by wetness during the treatment. Conclusion WWT shows rapid efficacy and less adverse reactions in the treatment of severe childhood AD, and its therapeutic effect is superior to that of traditional topical treatment. Key words: Dermatitis, atopic; Child; Treatment outcome; Wet-wrap treatment