A nationwide 104 weeks real-world study of dupilumab in adults with atopic dermatitis: Ineffectiveness in head-and-neck dermatitis

Background: Evaluation of effectiveness and safety of new systemic treatments for atopic dermatitis (AD) after approval is important. There are few published data exceeding 52-week therapy with dupilumab.

Objectives: To examine the safety, effectiveness and drug survival of dupilumab in a Danish nationwide cohort with moderate-to-severe AD up to 104 weeks exposure.

Methods: We included 347 adult patients with AD who were treated with dupilumab and registered in the SCRATCH registry during 2017-2022.

Results: At all visits, we observed improvement in AD severity measured by Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) [median (IQR)]. EASI score at baseline was 18.0 (10.6-25.2), at week 4: 6.5 (3.5-11.6), at week 16: 3.7 (1.2-6.2), at week 52: 2.0 (0.8-3.6), at week 104: 1.7 (0.8-3.8). While drug survival was high (week 52: 90%; week 104: 86%), AD in the head-and-neck area remained present in most patients at high levels; proportion with head-and-neck AD at baseline was 76% and 68% at week 104. 35% of patients reported any AE. Conjunctivitis was the most frequent (25% of all patients) and median time to first registration of conjunctivitis was 201 days.

Conclusions: While 2-year drug survival was 86%, dupilumab was unable to effectively treat AD in the head-and-neck area, and conjunctivitis was found in 25% of patients.