Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Jan 1;154(1):37-43.
doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.3647.

Effect of Oral Administration of a Mixture of Probiotic Strains on SCORAD Index and Use of Topical Steroids in Young Patients With Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Vicente Navarro-López  1   2 , Ana Ramírez-Boscá  2   3 , Daniel Ramón-Vidal  4   5 , Beatriz Ruzafa-Costas  2 , Salvador Genovés-Martínez  5 , Empar Chenoll-Cuadros  5 , Miguel Carrión-Gutiérrez  6 , José Horga de la Parte  7 , David Prieto-Merino  8   9 , Francisco M Codoñer-Cortés  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of Oral Administration of a Mixture of Probiotic Strains on SCORAD Index and Use of Topical Steroids in Young Patients With Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Vicente Navarro-López et al. JAMA Dermatol. .

Abstract

Importance: Oral intake of new probiotic formulations may improve the course of atopic dermatitis (AD) in a young population.

Objective: To determine whether a mixture of oral probiotics is safe and effective in the treatment of AD symptoms and to evaluate its influence on the use of topical steroids in a young population.

Design, setting, and participants: A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial, from March to June 2016, at the outpatient hospital Centro Dermatológico Estético de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Observers were blinded to patient groupings. Participants were children aged 4 to 17 years with moderate atopic dermatitis. The groups were stratified and block randomized according to sex, age, and age of onset. Patients were ineligible if they had used systemic immunosuppressive drugs in the previous 3 months or antibiotics in the previous 2 weeks or had a concomitant diagnosis of intestinal bowel disease or signs of bacterial infection.

Interventions: Twelve weeks with a daily capsule containing freeze-dried powder with 109 total colony-forming units of the probiotic strains Bifidobacterium lactis CECT 8145, B longum CECT 7347, and Lactobacillus casei CECT 9104 and maltodextrin as a carrier, or placebo (maltodextrin-only capsules).

Main outcomes and measures: SCORAD index score and days of topical steroid use were analyzed.

Results: Fifty children (26 [50%] female; mean [SD] age, 9.2 [3.7] years) participated. After 12 weeks of follow-up, the mean reduction in the SCORAD index in the probiotic group was 19.2 points greater than in the control group (mean difference, -19.2; 95% CI, -15.0 to -23.4). In relative terms, we observed a change of -83% (95% CI, -95% to -70%) in the probiotic group and -24% (95% CI, -36% to -11%) in the placebo group (P < .001). We found a significant reduction in the use of topical steroids to treat flares in the probiotic arm (161 of 2084 patient-days [7.7%]) compared with the control arm (220 of 2032 patient-days [10.8%]; odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.78).

Conclusions and relevance: The mixture of probiotics was effective in reducing SCORAD index and reducing the use of topical steroids in patients with moderate AD.

Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02585986.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Ramón-Vidal, Mr Genovés-Martínez, and Dr Chenoll-Cuadros are employed by Biopolis. No other disclosures are reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. CONSORT Diagram
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Change in SCORAD Index and Its Components
Error bars indicate 95% confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Silverberg NB. A practical overview of pediatric atopic dermatitis, part 1: epidemiology and pathogenesis. Cutis. 2016;97(4):267-271. - PubMed
    1. Garg N, Silverberg JI. Epidemiology of childhood atopic dermatitis. Clin Dermatol. 2015;33(3):281-288. - PubMed
    1. Celakovská J, Bukač J. The severity of atopic dermatitis evaluated with the SCORAD index and the occurrence of bronchial asthma and rhinitis, and the duration of atopic dermatitis. Allergy Rhinol (Providence). 2016;7(1):8-13. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nowicki R, Trzeciak M, Wilkowska A, et al. . Atopic dermatitis: current treatment guidelines: statement of the experts of the Dermatological Section, Polish Society of Allergology, and the Allergology Section, Polish Society of Dermatology. Postepy Dermatol Alergol. 2015;32(4):239-249. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buzney CD, Gottlieb AB, Rosmarin D. Asthma and atopic dermatitis: a review of targeted inhibition of interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 as therapy for atopic disease. J Drugs Dermatol. 2016;15(2):165-171. - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data