Ninety percent of people with moderate-to-severe symptoms of atopic dermatitis (atopic eczema) can effectively control their condition after receiving proper treatment for a year, the Atopic Dermatitis Patient Association (ADPA) said yesterday.
The slogan for this year’s World Atopic Eczema Day on Saturday is “atopic eczema unfiltered,” meaning to focus on understanding the true and unfiltered reality of those living with the condition, highlighting their daily challenges and the need for comprehensive care, ADPA president Chu Chia-yu (朱家瑜) said.
The association surveyed people with atopic dermatitis to understand their daily challenges and treatment, asking participants to fill out a questionnaire every three months for two years to follow up on their conditions after proper treatment, said Chu, a dermatologist at National Taiwan University Hospital.
Photo: CNA
The first phase of the survey collected four questionnaires from 238 people, with a median age of 26.5, between June last year and August this year, he said.
The survey found that while about 40 percent of respondents were assessed by doctors as having moderate-to-severe cases, after receiving a year of continuous treatment, only about 10 percent of them were assessed as still having moderate-to-severe symptoms, while many of them had nearly no or only mild symptoms.
“The treatments cannot completely cure atopic dermatitis, but getting proper treatment from a professional physician can help patients effectively manage their conditions,” Chu said.
The survey also showed a gap between patients’ perception of the severity of their condition and their doctors’ assessments, he said.
About 40 percent of respondents were diagnosed as having moderate-to-severe cases, while about 50 percent said they feel they have moderate-to-severe symptoms, he added.
“We found that people often feel their condition is worse than doctors think it is, and it might be because doctors can only assess from apparent symptoms, but cannot know how it affects each person’s daily life,” Chu said.
Regarding treatment, the survey showed that up to 95 percent of respondents had used topical treatments in the past three months, with 87 percent of them requiring topical corticosteroids, he said.
Among those who took oral medications in the past three months, about 85 percent had taken oral antihistamines, a class of drug often used to relieve allergy symptoms, he said.
Forty percent also said they took immunosuppressants, including cyclosporine, methotrexate and azathioprine, Chu said, adding that about 15 percent of them also took small molecule targeted drugs, including abrocitinib, baricitinib and upadacitinib.
Nearly 30 percent of the respondents said they received a new biologic drug dupilumab, given by injection under the skin once every two weeks, he said.
“The best treatment for each person might be different and should be made through shared decisionmaking between the doctor and the patient,” Chu said.
The association also invited two people to share their experiences, including a 29-year-old man surnamed Ho (何) who has been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis since age five, and a 30-year-old woman surnamed Chou (周), who had been diagnosed at age seven, both moderate-to-severe cases.
Ho said he had seen many Western and traditional Chinese medicine doctors and tried folk remedies since he was young, but had become frustrated as his condition did not improve and he always felt tired even after sleeping for 10 to 12 hours a night.
Nevertheless, he last year again went to see a doctor as the itchiness was unbearable, he said.
He said he did not have high hopes at first, but was surprised that after routinely taking new drugs for a year, it greatly improved his atopic dermatitis symptoms, as well as his asthma.
He can now spend less time caring for his skin, and has even started some outdoor activities, he said.
Chou said she always kept her hair short as long hair would stick to skin blisters.
She said she often felt hurt when people looked at her with strange expressions, and was even told no one would love her because of her skin condition.
After receiving effective treatment, she said she finally has the courage to try new things, such as swimming and surfing.
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