Are accelerometers a useful tool for measuring disease activity in children with eczema? Validity, responsiveness to change, and acceptability of use in a clinical trial setting

Wootton, Catriona I.; Koller, Karin; Lawton, Sandra; O’Leary, Caroline; Kim, Thomas

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.11184.x

Cited by 21 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(68 reference statements)

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“…Other more sophisticated methods of objectively recording itch have been tried. 46 Composite outcome measures are most often used. These usually incorporate measures of extent of atopic eczema and several physical signs such as redness, scratch marks, thickening of the skin, scaling and dryness.…”

Section: Other Recommendations Includedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoping systematic review of treatments for eczema

Nankervis

Kim

Delamere

et al. 2016

Programme Grants Appl Res

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BackgroundEczema is a very common chronic inflammatory skin condition.ObjectivesTo update the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) systematic review of treatments for atopic eczema, published in 2000, and to inform health-care professionals, commissioners and patients about key treatment developments and research gaps.Data sourcesElectronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) were searched from the end of 2000 to 31 August 2013. Retrieved articles were used to identify further randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Review methodsStudies were filtered according to inclusion criteria and agreed by consensus in cases of uncertainty. Abstracts were excluded and non-English-language papers were screened by international colleagues and data were extracted. Only RCTs of treatments for eczema were included, as other forms of evidence are associated with higher risks of bias. Inclusion criteria for studies included availability of data relevant to the therapeutic management of eczema; mention of randomisation; comparison of two or more treatments; and prospective data collection. Participants of all ages were included. Eczema diagnosis was determined by a clinician or according to published diagnostic criteria. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool. We used a standardised approach to summarising the data and the assessment of risk of bias and we made a clear distinction between what the studies found and our own interpretation of study findings.ResultsOf 7198 references screened, 287 new trials were identified spanning 92 treatments. Trial reporting was generally poor (randomisation method: 2% high, 36% low, 62% unclear risk of bias; allocation concealment: 3% high, 15% low, 82% unclear risk of bias; blinding of the intervention: 15% high, 28% low, 57% unclear risk of bias). Only 22 (8%) trials were considered to be at low risk of bias for all three criteria. There was reasonable evidence of benefit for the topical medications tacrolimus, pimecrolimus and various corticosteroids (with tacrolimus superior to pimecrolimus and corticosteroids) for both treatment and flare prevention; oral ciclosporin; oral azathioprine; narrow band ultraviolet B (UVB) light; Atopiclair™ and education. There was reasonable evidence to suggest no clinically useful benefit for twice-daily compared with once-daily topical corticosteroids; corticosteroids containing antibiotics for non-infected eczema; probiotics; evening primrose and borage oil; ion-exchange water softeners; protease inhibitor SRD441 (Serentis Ltd); furfuryl palmitate in emollient; cipamfylline cream; andMycobacterium vaccaevaccine. Additional research evidence is needed for emollients, bath additives, antibacterials, specialist clothing and complementary and alternative therapies. There was no RCT evidence for topical corticosteroid dilution, impregnated bandages, soap avoidance, bathing frequency or allergy testing.LimitationsThe large scope of the review coupled with the heterogeneity of outcomes precluded formal meta-analyses. Our conclusions are still limited by a profusion of small, poorly reported studies.ConclusionsAlthough the evidence base of RCTs has increased considerably since the last NIHR HTA systematic review, the field is still severely hampered by poor design and reporting problems including failure to register trials and declare primary outcomes, small sample size, short follow-up duration and poor reporting of risk of bias. Key areas for further research identified by the review include the optimum use of emollients, bathing frequency, wash products, allergy testing and antiseptic treatments. Perhaps the greatest benefit identified is the use of twice weekly anti-inflammatory treatment to maintain disease remission. More studies need to be conducted in a primary care setting where most people with eczema are seen in the UK. Future studies need to use the same core set of outcomes that capture patient symptoms, clinical signs, quality of life and the chronic nature of the disease.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme.

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Section: Other Recommendations Includedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoping systematic review of treatments for eczema

Nankervis

Kim

Delamere

et al. 2016

Programme Grants Appl Res

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“…Several publications describe the creation and validation of QoL instruments, and their culturally validated local versions, in AD patients and in parents/caregivers (Table ). The DLQI, DFI and PIQoL‐AD have also been used in the validation process of non‐QoL instruments …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life measurement in atopic dermatitis. Position paper of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Force on quality of life

Chernyshov

Tómas-Aragonés

Manolache³

et al. 2017

Acad Dermatol Venereol

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There is a need for researchers to have easy reference to the wide spectrum of different types of quality of life (QoL) instruments that can be used in atopic dermatitis (AD). Previous reviews on QoL in AD do not cover the full spectrum of QoL measures used in studies on AD. This study, on behalf of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Task Force on QoL, contains information on instruments available for health-related QoL and family QoL assessment in AD including information on validation, experience of QoL assessment in AD for different purposes, peculiarities of QoL assessment in different age groups, expert analysis of available instruments including data on limitations of their use and recommendations of the Task Force.

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“…Actigraphy is the commonest technique, consisting in the recording of movement using portable devices known as accelerometers, which are applied generally to the wrist of the patient, and can be used to record movement over an extended period. Contrasting results have been reported regarding the correlation between night-time movements and video surveillance, disease severity, and biological markers [36]. Further tools have been used, like electromyogram, pressure sensor, and movement sensor, applied to the hand, limb or total body [37].…”

Section: Evaluating Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%