Tacrolimus ointment for children's atopic dermatitis and its influence on malassezia's colonization

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the influence of tacrolimus ointment on malassezia's colonization in the lesional areas of the children with atopic dermatitis (AD).Methods The children with AD were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group.Both groups orally administered loratadine tablets.In addition,the treatment group were treated with 0.03％ tacrolimus ointment and the control group was given Vitamin E cream twice a day for 3 weeks.The SCORAD integral drop index was used to evaluate the efficacy.Values of SCORAD and malassezia colonization density were compared before,day 7,14,and 21 of,and 14 and 28 days after the treatment.Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the dependability between malassezia colonization density and the severity of disease.Results The SCORAD value of the treatment group markedly decreased after the treatment.The efficacy rate was 95.65 ％ in treatment group and 66.67 ％ in the control group (P ＜ 0.05).28 days after the treatment,one case recurred and the efficacy rate was 91.30％ in the treatment group and 3 cases recurred and the efficacy rate was 50.00％ in the control group,with significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant correlation between malassezia colonization density and SCORAD integral before and after the treatment.Day 7,14,and 21 of the treatment,Malassezia colonization densities were lower in the treatment group than in the control group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions 0.03％ tacrolimus ointment for children with AD is effective and safe,has a low recurrence rate,and can reduce the malassezia colonization density on the surface of lesional area. Key words: Atopic dermatitis; Tacrolimus; Malassezia; Colonization