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
Review
. 2018 Apr 17:7:212530.
doi: 10.7573/dic.212530. eCollection 2018.

Emollient treatment of atopic dermatitis: latest evidence and clinical considerations

Kam Lun Hon  1 , Jeng Sum Charmaine Kung  1 , Wing Gi Gigi Ng  1 , Ting Fan Leung  1
Affiliations
Review

Emollient treatment of atopic dermatitis: latest evidence and clinical considerations

Kam Lun Hon et al. Drugs Context. .

Abstract

Aim: To review current classes of emollients in the market, their clinical efficacy in atopic dermatitis (AD) and considerations for choice of an emollient.

Methods: PubMed Clinical Queries under Clinical Study Categories (with Category limited to Therapy and Scope limited to Narrow) and Systematic Reviews were used as the search engine. Keywords of 'emollient or moisturizer' and 'atopic dermatitis' were used.

Overview of findings: Using the keywords of 'emollient' and 'atopic dermatitis', there were 105 and 36 hits under Clinical Study Categories (with Category limited to Therapy and Scope limited to Narrow) and Systematic Reviews, respectively. Plant-derived products, animal products and special ingredients were discussed. Selected proprietary products were tabulated.

Conclusions: A number of proprietary emollients have undergone trials with clinical data available on PubMed-indexed journals. Most moisturizers showed some beneficial effects, but there was generally no evidence that one moisturizer is superior to another. Choosing an appropriate emollient for AD patients would improve acceptability and adherence for emollient treatment. Physician's recommendation is the primary consideration for patients when selecting a moisturizer/emollient; therefore, doctors should provide evidence-based information about these emollients.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis; emollient.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure and potential conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Potential Conflicts of Interests form for the authors are available for download at: http://www.drugsincontext.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/dic.212530-COI.pdf

References

    1. Leung AK, Hon KL, Robson WL. Atopic dermatitis. Adv Pediatr. 2007;54:241–73. doi: 10.1016/j.yapd.2007.03.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leung TN, Hon KL. Eczema therapeutics in children: what do the clinical trials say? Hong Kong Med J. 2015;10 doi: 10.12809/hkmj144474. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen A, Arents BWM. Emollients and moisturisers for eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;2:CD012119. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012119.pub2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giam YC, Hebert AA, Dizon MV, Van BH, Tiongco-Recto M, Kim KH, Soebono H, Munasir Z, Diana IA, Luk DCK. A review on the role of moisturizers for atopic dermatitis. Asia Pac Allergy. 2016;6:120–8. doi: 10.5415/apallergy.2016.6.2.120. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hon KL, Leung AK, Barankin B. Barrier repair therapy in atopic dermatitis: an overview. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2013;14:389–99. doi: 10.1007/s40257-013-0033-9. - DOI - PubMed