Background: Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Methotrexate is an off-label systemic agent for treating uncontrolled atopic dermatitis.
Objective: This study assessed the safety and efficacy of methotrexate in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis.
Methods: This multicenter, retrospective study assessed pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis who were treated with methotrexate.
Results: Medical records of 26 pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis were reviewed. All the patients had Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) scores of 3-4 and had received systemic therapy before receiving methotrexate. In all, 53.85% patients showed clinical improvement at 3 and 6 months after methotrexate initiation. The IGA scores of the patients decreased significantly at 3 months after methotrexate initiation compared with those at baseline; moreover, the IGA scores of the patients at 6 months after methotrexate initiation were lower than those at 3 months after methotrexate initiation. In all, 54% study patients are still undergoing methotrexate treatment. Median satisfaction rate with methotrexate was 7.5/10. However, 10.35% patients developed adverse events, of which only one patient discontinued the treatment.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that methotrexate is a tolerable and effective agent for treating refractory childhood atopic dermatitis.
Keywords: Atopic dermatitis; atopic eczema; childhood; methotrexate.