Retrospective Analysis of the Effect of Comorbid Atopic Dermatitis on the Treatment Response to Topical Immunotherapy in Pediatric Alopecia Areata Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Alopecia areata is an organ-specific autoimmune disease. In addition, treatment options are limited in pediatric patients. Topical immunotherapy treatment may be preferred, especially in pediatric patients with severe and/or refractory alopecia areata. Objectives: In this study, it was aimed to examine the effect of atopic dermatitis, which is one of the poor prognostic factors in pediatric alopecia areata, on topical immunotherapy treatment. Methods: The data of patients aged 18 years and younger who received at least 20 sessions of topical immunotherapy with the diagnosis of alopecia areata in our clinic between January 2018 and December 2020 were analyzed. Results: A total of 139 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 10.29 years, 67 (48.20%) of the patients were female, 72 (51.80%) were male, 24 (17.26%) of the patients had mild disease, 115 of them (82.73%) had severe disease. Atopic dermatitis accompanying alopecia areata was detected in 38 of the patients. Inadequate response was obtained in 60 (43.17%) patients and adequate response was obtained in 79 (56.83%) patients with topical immunotherapy treatment. In addition, the presence of atopic dermatitis in the patient group with inadequate response to treatment was found to be statistically significantly higher than the patient group with adequate response to treatment. Conclusions: Topical immunotherapy treatment was found to be effective in 56.83% of pediatric alopecia areata patients included in the study. Our study showed that questioning pediatric alopecia areata patients for atopic dermatitis before topical immunotherapy treatment can predict the response to treatment.