Dupilumab for the treatment of adult atopic dermatitis in special populations

Background Special populations (SPs) involve people who require additional consideration in clinical research. Effectiveness of treatment or occurrence of side effects may be different in SPs with respect to not-SPs. Objectives To retrospectively compare the effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in AD treatment of SPs versus not-SPs. Methods A 52-weeks retrospective study was performed enrolling patients with a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe AD undergoing treatment with dupilumab at labeled dosage. Patients were divided in Group A (SPs patients) and Group B (not-SPs patients). Disease severity was assessed using Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI), Pruritus-Numerical Rating Scale (P-NRS), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score at baseline and after 4 weeks (W4), W16, W24, and W52. Results A total of 263 patients were enrolled and divided in Group A (25) and Group B (238). SPs included history of cancer, severe kidney failure, viral hepatitis, neurological diseases, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and transplanted patients. A statistically significant reduction of EASI, DLQI, and P-NRS was assessed in both groups at each follow-up visit (p < .0001), without significant differences between the groups. No differences were recorded for safety. Conclusions There are not significant differences between SPs and not-SPs as regards effectiveness and safety of dupilumab in AD management.