Correlation of eosinophils, eosinophil cationic protein and soluble interleukin-2 receptor with the clinical activity of atopic dermatitis.

To evaluate the correlation with the clinical activity of atopic dermatitis (AD) we investigated prospectively cellular and serological parameters such as eosinophils, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R), soluble CD23 (sCD23) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in peripheral blood of 37 AD patients on admission to and discharge from the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital in Zurich. On admission the actual clinical skin condition as measured by the skin intensity score (SIS) was significantly correlated with eosinophils (p less than 0.005), ECP (p less than 0.05) and sIL-2R (p less than 0.001). During the observation period a significant improvement in the clinical status as measured by the SIS was observed in all AD patients (p less than 0.001). A significant decrease in sIL-2R (p less than 0.005), which was most pronounced in the group of AD patients receiving systemic steroids, together with a decrease in eosinophils and ECP but not in sCD23 and LDH could be demonstrated between admission and discharge. In addition, a slight but significant increase in peripheral blood lymphocytes (p less than 0.005) and monocytes (p less than 0.01) was noted. Comparing the 'extrinsic' (n = 32) and the 'intrinsic' (n = 5) types of AD no significant differences with regard to the above mentioned parameters were found. Our data indicate that cellular and serological parameters such as eosinophils, ECP and sIL-2R reflect the clinical activity of AD and may therefore give further insights into the pathogenesis of this disease.