Atopic dermatitis in adolescents: effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in a 16-week real-life experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Stingeni, Luca; Hansel, Katharina; Antonelli, Elettra; Bello, Giacomo Dal; Patruno, Cataldo; Napolitano, Maddalena; Fabbrocini, Gabriella; Grieco, Teresa; Pellacani, Giovanni; Fargnoli, Maria Concetta; Esposito, Maria; Piras, Viviana; Zucca, Myriam; Girolomoni, Giampiero

Dupilumab showed significant improvement of adolescent atopic dermatitis (AD) signs and symptoms in clinical trials, with a good safety profile. Herein we report the real-word effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in adolescents with moderate to severe AD from January to October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. All patients had a diagnosis of AD for a mean [SD] 12.8 [3.1] years. Baseline demographics, AD characteristics (EASI, cDLQI, NRS itch score, NRS sleep loss score) at baseline and week 16, and safety data were collected. Nineteen patients (52.6% men; mean [SD] age, 15.6 [1.4] years [range, 13-17 years]) were included in the analysis. All patients reached EASI-50 and 78.9% EASI-75, especially in those with EASI≥30 and BMI<25 at baseline, with marked reduction for cDLQI (77.4%), NRS itch score (5.9 point), and NRS sleep loss score (87.5%). One patient contracted asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1 developed mild conjuntivitis, without stopping dupilumab. In this real-word experience the effectiveness of dupilumab was excellent and resulted higher than that observed in clinical trials, with a good safety profile during COVID-19 pandemic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.