What's new in atopic eczema? An analysis of systematic reviews published in 2015. Part 2: prevention and treatment

Summary This review forms part of a series of annual updates that summarize the evidence base for atopic eczema ( AE ), providing a succinct guide for clinicians and patients. It provides a summary of key findings from 26 systematic reviews that were published during 2015, and focuses on the treatment and prevention of AE . For systematic reviews on the epidemiology and methodological issues, see Part 1 of this update. Topical corticosteroid withdrawal syndrome, ‘steroid addiction’, has been evaluated in a high‐quality systematic review, which helps better define this entity and the risk factors for it. A Cochrane Review has not demonstrated any association between topical corticosteroid use in pregnancy and adverse outcomes, although very large quantities of potent/very potent topical corticosteroids may be associated with reduced birth weight. House dust mite avoidance strategies do not appear to prevent AE . Exposure to probiotics prenatally and in early infancy may help prevent AE , but there is no evidence that maternal diet or supplementation has a preventative effect.