Tacrolimus ointment is safe and effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis: results in 8000 patients

Abstract

Objective: We sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tacrolimus ointment in a large cohort of adult and pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods: A cohort of 3964 adult and 3959 pediatric patients with AD were enrolled in this open-label noncomparative study. Patients applied tacrolimus 0.03% or 0.1% ointment twice daily to the affected areas. Efficacy and safety assessments included percentage of body surface area affected and incidence of adverse events, respectively.

Results: A total of 7923 patients were evaluated; 95.5% had severe or moderate AD at baseline. There was a 52% decrease from baseline in the mean percentage of body surface area affected at month 1 and a 91% decrease at month 18. Two of the most common adverse events, skin burning and pruritus, were generally mild, transient in nature, and decreased in prevalence as AD improved. Severity and frequency of other common adverse events were consistent with expected rates in the general population.

Conclusion: Tacrolimus ointment monotherapy in almost 8000 pediatric and adult patients led to continuous improvement in AD and revealed no change in the safety profile reported in previous clinical trials.