Outpatient, short-term, once-daily, diluted, 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wraps for childhood atopic eczema

Abstract

Seven female and five male children with severe atopic eczema who had failed to respond to conventional topical steroid and emollient application were treated with a 2-week course of once-daily diluted 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wraps. Their mean age was 8.5 years (range 3-12 years). The treatment was carried out on an outpatient basis for 10-12 h daily. Clinical severity scores (CSS) measuring the severity of clinical lesions and self-assessment scores (SAS) referring to scores of symptom severity reported by the patients/parents were recorded. A significant improvement as shown by a marked reduction in CSS and SAS was seen in 11 patients, and overall mean scores were significantly improved (P<0.005). Adverse effects were mild, tolerable and self-limiting, and posttreatment early morning plasma cortisol levels were not depressed. We conclude that supervised outpatient treatment with diluted 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wrap dressings is a very effective and safe short-term treatment for severe atopic eczema in children who have failed conventional treatment with steroid and emollient applications.