Background:Atopic dermatitis(AD)is a distressing disease associated with pruritus and sleep disturbance.It is not known how well these symptoms correlate with the extent and intensity of eczematous involvement.We eval...Background:Atopic dermatitis(AD)is a distressing disease associated with pruritus and sleep disturbance.It is not known how well these symptoms correlate with the extent and intensity of eczematous involvement.We evaluated whether:(i)the level of sleep loss correlates with pruritus and(ii)the level of pruritus correlates with the extent or severity of AD in children according to the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis(SCORAD)index.Method:Patients with AD younger than 18 years old were recruited from the pediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital,and AD severity was evaluated by the SCORAD index.Results:One hundred and eighty-two Chinese children with AD(107 boys and 75 girls)[mean(SD)age of 9.6(4.2)years] were recruited.Their mean(SD)overall SCORAD was 30.1(19.2).Sleep loss was strongly correlated with pruritus(r=0.57,P < 0.001).However,the two subjective symptoms were only weakly correlated with the objective signs(extent and intensity)of AD.The correlations between pruritus and extent and intensity were 0.42(P < 0.001)and 0.38(P < 0.001),respectively,and the correlations between sleep loss and extent and intensity were 0.38(P < 0.001)and 0.34(P < 0.001),respectively.Conclusion:We speculate that the lack of a better correlation was either because pruritus and sleep loss as reported by parents were imprecise,or that mechanisms other than disease extent or severity are responsible for the pathogenesis of these subjective symptoms.展开更多
We evaluated the emollient use and bathing habits of children with atopic eczema (AE) managed at the paediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital, using children with noneczematous skin diseases as ...We evaluated the emollient use and bathing habits of children with atopic eczema (AE) managed at the paediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital, using children with noneczematous skin diseases as controls. Disease severity of AE in the preceding 12 months was evaluated by the Nottingham Eczema Severity Score. Three-quarters of patients with or without eczema preferred showering to bathing. Patients with AE were more likely to use bath oils than soap and to use emollients after a bath/shower. Review cases, however, were more likely to take a shower and for a longer time (10-30 min) than first-visit eczema patients. These habits did not vary with season or disease severity. Emulsifying ointment was the most commonly used agent for the bath/shower. Most patients applied emollient immediately after a bath/shower. However there were still significant proportions of AE patients who used soap (40%of first-visit vs. 2 7%of review cases) and who did not apply emollients after a bath/shower (25%of first-visit vs. 23%of review cases). It is important to determine whether this problem is due to inadequate patient education or whether other factors lead to poor compliance.展开更多
文摘Background:Atopic dermatitis(AD)is a distressing disease associated with pruritus and sleep disturbance.It is not known how well these symptoms correlate with the extent and intensity of eczematous involvement.We evaluated whether:(i)the level of sleep loss correlates with pruritus and(ii)the level of pruritus correlates with the extent or severity of AD in children according to the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis(SCORAD)index.Method:Patients with AD younger than 18 years old were recruited from the pediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital,and AD severity was evaluated by the SCORAD index.Results:One hundred and eighty-two Chinese children with AD(107 boys and 75 girls)[mean(SD)age of 9.6(4.2)years] were recruited.Their mean(SD)overall SCORAD was 30.1(19.2).Sleep loss was strongly correlated with pruritus(r=0.57,P < 0.001).However,the two subjective symptoms were only weakly correlated with the objective signs(extent and intensity)of AD.The correlations between pruritus and extent and intensity were 0.42(P < 0.001)and 0.38(P < 0.001),respectively,and the correlations between sleep loss and extent and intensity were 0.38(P < 0.001)and 0.34(P < 0.001),respectively.Conclusion:We speculate that the lack of a better correlation was either because pruritus and sleep loss as reported by parents were imprecise,or that mechanisms other than disease extent or severity are responsible for the pathogenesis of these subjective symptoms.
文摘We evaluated the emollient use and bathing habits of children with atopic eczema (AE) managed at the paediatric dermatology clinic of a university teaching hospital, using children with noneczematous skin diseases as controls. Disease severity of AE in the preceding 12 months was evaluated by the Nottingham Eczema Severity Score. Three-quarters of patients with or without eczema preferred showering to bathing. Patients with AE were more likely to use bath oils than soap and to use emollients after a bath/shower. Review cases, however, were more likely to take a shower and for a longer time (10-30 min) than first-visit eczema patients. These habits did not vary with season or disease severity. Emulsifying ointment was the most commonly used agent for the bath/shower. Most patients applied emollient immediately after a bath/shower. However there were still significant proportions of AE patients who used soap (40%of first-visit vs. 2 7%of review cases) and who did not apply emollients after a bath/shower (25%of first-visit vs. 23%of review cases). It is important to determine whether this problem is due to inadequate patient education or whether other factors lead to poor compliance.
