Quantifying patient preferences for systemic atopic dermatitis treatments using a discrete-choice experiment

Objectives: To identify meaningful treatment attributes and quantify patient preferences for attributes of systemic atopic dermatitis (AD) treatments.

Materials and methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with adults with moderate-to-severe AD (N = 21) to identify AD treatment attributes that patients consider most important and inform attribute selection for an online discrete-choice experiment (DCE) survey administered to patients in the United States with moderate-to-severe AD. Participants identified probability of clear/almost clear skin at 16 weeks, time to itch relief, mode of administration, and safety risks as very important. DCE data were analyzed using a random-parameters logit model to estimate the relative importance of treatment attributes and maximum acceptable risk.

Results: A total of 320 respondents completed the DCE survey (74% female; mean age, 35 years). Annual risk of malignancy was the most important attribute, followed by mode of administration, probability of clear skin at 16 weeks, and time to onset of itch relief. Respondents preferred daily oral treatment over injectable treatment. Respondents were willing to accept increases in adverse event risks for improvements in efficacy and mode of administration.

Conclusion: The findings of this study can help inform joint patient-physician decision making in managing moderate-to-severe AD.