Effectiveness and safety of dupilumab for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in a real-life French multicenter adult cohort.

BACKGROUND

Dupilumab is the first biologic available to treat atopic dermatitis (AD). Its effectiveness and safety were demonstrated in clinical trials.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to assess the effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in adults with AD in a real-life French multicenter retrospective cohort.

METHODS

We included patients treated during March 2017-April 2018. Efficacy outcomes, including Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) and Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) scores, were collected at baseline and 3 months when available. Adverse events (AEs) were recorded at follow-up.

RESULTS

We included 241 patients. The median ± interquartile range (IQR) follow-up time was 3.8 ± 3.7 months. A ≥75% improvement in SCORAD was achieved in 27 of 163 (16.6%) patients, and a ≥75% improvement in EASI was achieved in 40 of 82 (48.8%) patients. The median SCORAD and EASI scores at 3 months were significantly lower than those at baseline (SCORAD ± IQR, 25 ± 21 vs 56 ± 27.4, P < 10-9 and EASI ± IQR, 4.1 ± 6.8 vs 17.9 ± 15.4, P < 10-9, respectively). Conjunctivitis was reported in 84 of 241 (38.2%) patients. The proportion with eosinophilia (>500 cells/mm3) during follow-up (57%) was higher than that at baseline (33.7%) (n = 172, P < 10-6). Dupilumab was stopped in 42 cases; 27 patients stopped because of AEs.

LIMITATIONS: No control group, missing data.

CONCLUSION

This real-life study demonstrated a similar dupilumab effectiveness as that seen in clinical trials, but it also revealed a higher frequency of conjunctivitis and eosinophilia.