Real‑world data presented at the Dermatology Education Foundation 2025 NP/PA CME Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, suggest that patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) receiving systemic therapy (with or without topicals) may experience better disease control, fewer flares, and higher treatment satisfaction than those on topicals alone, but significant unmet need persists.1
The poster, Real-World Insights on Systemic Treatments and Disease Control in Atopic Dermatitis, analyzed retrospective data from 914 adult patients reported by 87 advanced practice providers (APPs; 34 nurse practitioners and 53 physician assistants). Of 750 patients on active regimens, 446 were receiving systemic (either with or without topical therapy) and 304 received topical treatment only; 385 of the participants had moderate or severe disease.
Systemic treatment fared more favorably, with APPs reporting higher treatment satisfaction with systemic use (77% vs 61%) and better disease control with systemics (60% vs 45%). Patients similarly preferred systemic treatment (either with or without topical therapy), with more than one‑third in the systemic treatment group noting they were extremely satisfied (38%) compared with 9% of those receiving only topicals. Patients in the systemic group were also less likely to be in an active flare state during the study as compared to the topicals only group (34% vs 46%).
Clear or almost clear skin was reported in 68% vs 33% of patients with controlled and uncontrolled disease, respectively. Unsurprisingly, quality of life scores corresponded with disease control status, with 94% of patients with controlled disease who had Dermatology Life Quality Index scores ≤5 reporting no to small impact). Meanwhile, more than 65% of patients with uncontrolled disease said the disease had substantial impact on their quality of life.
Despite the gains, the investigators concluded that “almost half of the patients in the study had uncontrolled AD, and ~30% of patients with controlled AD did not have clear/almost clear skin.”1
“I think the most important thing to recognize is that these diseases are systemic diseases. The rashes and the end organ lesions that we see on the skin represent a systemic inflammatory process that is out of control,” Joe Gorelick, PA‑C, Dermatology Education Foundation president and co-author of the poster, said in an interview with Dermatology Times. “In knowing that, it’s really important that we don’t undertreat these patients and that we treat the disease as close as we can to the root cause.”
Gorelick added that, fortunately, the field is seeing a revolution, with new agents available and becoming available. exciting thing about dermatology is that we’ve got a tremendous amount of medications, therapeutics that are new.
“They’re not just new to be new, they’re thoughtfully developed so that we can treat diseases in safer ways than before,” he told Dermatology Times. “These newer, more targeted therapies oftentimes are much safer than other agents we’ve used. In addition, they actually tend to be more effective than their predecessors.”
Reference
1. Cantrell W, Gorelick, J, Hetzel A, et al. Real-World Insights on Systemic Treatments and Disease Control in Atopic Dermatitis: Patient Satisfaction and Recap of Atopic Eczema (RECAP) Outcomes. Presented at: DERM 2025 NP/PA CME Conference; July 23-26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.