BACKGROUND: The successful treatment of atopic eczema (AE) should result in the improvement of both physical symptoms and patient's quality of life (QoL). This study was conducted using a sample of dermatologists throughout Germany. This is due to dermatologists being the main health care providers of AE. OBJECTIVES: Obtaining reliable data on quality of care of AE from both the patient's and the physician's perspective. METHODS: This cross-sectional study assessed: the individual clinical history; dermatology-specific QoL (DLQI); state of health (EQ-5d-VAS); treatments; burden caused by disease and treatment; patient-defined treatment benefit (PBI). RESULTS: Data from 1678 adult patients (60.5% female, mean age: 38.4 ± 15.9) were analysed. The most frequently used treatments during the last five years were emollients (90.4%) and topical corticosteroids (85.5%). In this study, 75.8% of the patients felt only moderately or not at all impaired by their treatment. The mean DLQI (0 = minimum-30 = maximum QoL impairment) was 8.5 ± 6.5. The EQ-5d-VAS (100 = best possible) was 63.6 ± 22.0 on average. 26.6% reported suffering 'often' or 'every night' from sleeplessness due to severe itching. Mean PBI was 2.4 ± 1.1 (4 = maximum benefit). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides first data on the health care of adults with AE in Germany at a national level and reveals the need for a more effective care. Whereas most patients consider their treatment-related burden as low, the daily burden of the disease seems to be high: one third reports sleeplessness due to itching which indicates insufficient therapeutic regimes in these cases. A better implementation of the German national guideline for AE and a systematic analysis of the difficulties causing its limited effects is needed.
BACKGROUND: The successful treatment of atopic eczema (AE) should result in the improvement of both physical symptoms and patient's quality of life (QoL). This study was conducted using a sample of dermatologists throughout Germany. This is due to dermatologists being the main health care providers of AE. OBJECTIVES: Obtaining reliable data on quality of care of AE from both the patient's and the physician's perspective. METHODS: This cross-sectional study assessed: the individual clinical history; dermatology-specific QoL (DLQI); state of health (EQ-5d-VAS); treatments; burden caused by disease and treatment; patient-defined treatment benefit (PBI). RESULTS: Data from 1678 adult patients (60.5% female, mean age: 38.4 ± 15.9) were analysed. The most frequently used treatments during the last five years were emollients (90.4%) and topical corticosteroids (85.5%). In this study, 75.8% of the patients felt only moderately or not at all impaired by their treatment. The mean DLQI (0 = minimum-30 = maximum QoL impairment) was 8.5 ± 6.5. The EQ-5d-VAS (100 = best possible) was 63.6 ± 22.0 on average. 26.6% reported suffering 'often' or 'every night' from sleeplessness due to severe itching. Mean PBI was 2.4 ± 1.1 (4 = maximum benefit). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides first data on the health care of adults with AE in Germany at a national level and reveals the need for a more effective care. Whereas most patients consider their treatment-related burden as low, the daily burden of the disease seems to be high: one third reports sleeplessness due to itching which indicates insufficient therapeutic regimes in these cases. A better implementation of the German national guideline for AE and a systematic analysis of the difficulties causing its limited effects is needed.
Authors: M Augustin; C Garbe; S Neitemeier; T Steimle; S Schwarz; J Augustin; R von Kiedrowski; K Hagenström Journal: Hautarzt Date: 2021-11-25 Impact factor: 0.751
Authors: Hideyuki Ujiie; David Rosmarin; Michael P Schön; Sonja Ständer; Katharina Boch; Martin Metz; Marcus Maurer; Diamant Thaci; Enno Schmidt; Connor Cole; Kyle T Amber; Dario Didona; Michael Hertl; Andreas Recke; Hanna Graßhoff; Alexander Hackel; Anja Schumann; Gabriela Riemekasten; Katja Bieber; Gant Sprow; Joshua Dan; Detlef Zillikens; Tanya Sezin; Angela M Christiano; Kerstin Wolk; Robert Sabat; Khalaf Kridin; Victoria P Werth; Ralf J Ludwig Journal: Front Med (Lausanne) Date: 2022-06-09
Authors: A Langenbruch; N Mohr; F Abeck; J Schmitt; S Ständer; T Werfel; D Thaçi; S Weidinger; M Augustin Journal: Hautarzt Date: 2021-09-20 Impact factor: 0.751