Effectiveness and Safety of Dupilumab in Children Under 6 Years of Age with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis: A Retrospective Real-World Study.

Abstract

Introduction: Dupilumab has recently been shown to be effective in children under 6 years of age with atopic dermatitis (AD). Nevertheless, real-life and long-term follow-up data are scarce. We aimed to assess the effectiveness, safety, and long-term outcomes of dupilumab in a daily-practice setting in this age group.

Method: This was a retrospective observational cohort study. Only patients with 16 or more weeks of treatment were included in the analysis. The proportion of patients who achieved ≥75% or 90% reduction from baseline EASI (EASI75 and EASI90, respectively) and the percentage of patients who achieved vIGA 0-1 were analyzed at 4, 16, 48, 72, and 96 weeks (when available). Adverse events were recorded during follow-up.

Results: A total of 19 patients <6 years old with moderate-to-severe AD were included in the cohort, with a median age of 4.7 years (range: 2.6-5.9). The median weeks on dupilumab were 51.3 (IQR: 24.6-79.3). EASI75 was achieved in 11/19 patients (57.9%) at w4, 16/19 (84.2%) at w16, 9/12 (75%) at w48, 6/6 (100%) at w72, and in 2/2 (100%) at week 96. The objective of vIGA 0-1 was reached by 10/19 patients (51.6%) at w4, by 14/19 (73.7%) at w16, by 9/12 (75%) at w48, by 5/6 (83.3%) at w72, and by 2/2 (100%) at w96. Dupilumab was discontinued in 3 patients (15.8%) due to loss of response. One patient developed a paradoxical palmo-plantar eruption. We found no cases of conjunctivitis, facial erythema, or injection-site reactions related to dupilumab.

Conclusions: Dupilumab was effective and safe in our cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe AD under 6 years of age. Response was maintained in the long term in most patients with longer follow-up. Its adverse effect profile was similar to that found in older children and adults.