Effect of topical tacrolimus ointment on SCORAD index in pediatric atopic dermatitis.

Objectives: To determine topical tacrolimus ointment’s efficacy in atopic dermatitis. Study Design: Descriptive case series study. Setting: Outpatient Department of Dermatology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Civil Hospital, Hyderabad. Period: 12 October 2017 to 12 April 2018. Material & Methods: Consisted of 106 patients. Detailed History was taken from patients and systemic review was also done to assessed any co-morbidity. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 23.0. Results: In this study 71 (66.98%) patients were men and 35 (33.01%) were female; with male to female ratio 2:1. The mean age was 6.1+1.8 years. Clinical signs of patients were erythema 88(83.01%), edema 76(71.69%), Oozing/ crusting 45(42.45%), excoriation 59(55.66%) and lichenification 64(60.37%). Before treatment start the SCORAD index (SCORAD I) mean was 61.8 ± 11.12 (range 7–103): moderate cases were observed in 87(82.07%) patients (SCORAD I 30 – 49) and 19(17.92%) patients had severe AD (SCORAD I ≥50). After treatment, the SCORAD index mean was 35.8 ± 13.15 (range 7–103): 57(53.77%) patients had SCORAD index values ≤30; moderate cases (SCORAD I 30-49) were observed in 42(39.62%) patients and 7(6.60%) patients had severe AD (SCORAD I >50). In 57(53.77%) cases topical tacrolimus ointment (0.1%) showed positive efficacy in atopic dermatitis, while in 49(46.22%) cases observed negative. Conclusion: The application of topical tacrolimus ointment (0.1%) is effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children.