Atopic dermatitis (AD) can be extremely disabling and may cause psychological problems for affected children and their families. Moisturizers and emollients are important in the baseline daily skin care of patients with AD. To assess the effect of a 3-month, twice-daily treatment with an emollient on the quality of life (QoL) of parents with a child with mild to moderate AD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD] ≤ 30, a multicenter open trial was performed by eight dermatologists on 191 volunteers. Evaluation by the dermatologist of the child's clinical condition (SCORAD) and of the efficacy and overall safety of the treatment was associated with a QoL questionnaire completed by one parent of the atopic child. A self-assessment of the global QoL and of the efficacy and overall safety was also performed. During the study, mean SCORAD dropped from 28 to 12 (p < 0.001), with good improvement in skin dryness and pruritus criteria. At the same time, the self-assessment of the global parent QoL scores dropped from 4.4 to 2.1 (p < 0.001) with 60%, 48% and 79% favorable parent opinions regarding wellbeing or improvement of the health condition, quality of sleep, and efficacy of the emollient, respectively. This trial revealed the efficacy of the product in improving parent QoL (85% of parents noted improvement in QoL), and its global safety was considered to be very good or good, with 80% favorable opinions in parents' declarative judgements and dermatologists' assessments. The emollient evaluated improves the course of AD and can improve the QoL of patients and their families.
© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.