Dupilumab for the treatment of adult atopic dermatitis in special populations

Background: Special populations (SPs) involve people who require additional consideration in clinical research. Effectiveness of treatment or occurrence of side effects may be different in SPs with respect to not-SPs. Objectives: To retrospectively compare the effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in AD treatment of SPs versus not-SPs. Methods: A 52-weeks retrospective study was performed enrolling patients with a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe AD undergoing treatment with dupilumab at labeled dosage. Patients were divided in Group A (SPs patients) and Group B (not-SPs patients). Disease severity was assessed using Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI), Pruritus-Numerical Rating Scale (P-NRS), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score at baseline and after 4 weeks (W4), W16, W24, and W52. Results: A total of 263 patients were enrolled and divided in Group A (25) and Group B (238). SPs included history of cancer, severe kidney failure, viral hepatitis, neurological diseases, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and transplanted patients. A statistically significant reduction of EASI, DLQI, and P-NRS was assessed in both groups at each follow-up visit (p < .0001), without significant differences between the groups. No differences were recorded for safety. Conclusions: There are not significant differences between SPs and not-SPs as regards effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in AD management.