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Risk of Acute Upper Respiratory Infections in Patients With Atopic Dermatitis Treated With Dupilumab vs Non-Targeted Immunosuppressants
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- This longitudinal cohort study assessed the risk of upper respiratory infections in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis treated with dupilumab versus non-targeted immunosuppressants. Over 5 years, patients treated with dupilumab had a significantly lower incidence of upper respiratory infections than those treated with immunosuppressants.
- Treatment with dupilumab was associated with a significantly reduced risk of upper respiratory infections compared with treatment with non-targeted immunosuppressants in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract now Full Text Available for ClinicalKey SubscribersAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition characterized by T helper 2 (Th2) cell-mediated inflammation. Moderate-to-severe AD refractory to topical therapies are often treated with immunosuppressants associated with variable efficacy and adverse effects (e.g., bacterial infections) with long-term use. Dupilumab, an mAb inhibiting signaling of IL-4 and IL-13, is the first biologic approved for AD. There are limited comparative population-based studies on systemic immunosuppressant and immunomodulatory therapies for AD. Thus, this study aimed to compare the risk of upper respiratory infections (URIs) in patients with AD treated with dupilumab versus non-targeted immunosuppressants.
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Dupilumab is associated with reduced risk of acute upper respiratory infections in atopic dermatitis patients compared to non-targeted immunosuppressants: a multi-center cohort study
J Am Acad Dermatol 2024 Aug 30;[EPub Ahead of Print], EZ Ma, A Bao, M Ahmadi, J Zhang, SG KwatraFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
The authors of this study used a large global health records database to assess the 5-year incidence of upper respiratory tract infections among patients with atopic dermatitis treated with dupilumab versus immunosuppressants (methotrexate, cyclosporine, and azathioprine). The incidence of upper respiratory tract infection in the dupilumab and immunosuppressant groups was 10.8% and 18.8%, respectively.
This work only suggests that fewer upper respiratory tract infections occur among patients treated with dupilumab than among those treated with traditional immunosuppressants. Causation is not suggested owing to the retrospective and observational design of the study. However, clinical trial evidence supports fewer upper respiratory tract infections among patients with asthma and nasal polyposis treated with dupilumab. This may also prove true for patients with atopic dermatitis and, like the reduction in the occurrence of skin infections, would be an additional benefit of dupilumab therapy.