Pediatric atopic dermatitis guideline

Guideline highlights

These guidelines are the AAD’s first guidelines specific to the management of pediatric AD, published with the objectives of appraising the evidence and providing recommendations on the primary prevention of AD, appraising the evidence for the association between AD in children and adolescents and comorbid conditions, and addressing the management of pediatric AD with topical therapies, phototherapy, and systemic therapies.

A conditional recommendation is made in favor of the use of moisturizing skin care to reduce the occurrence of AD. Conditional recommendations are made against early food introduction, human milk consumption, and probiotic or vitamin D supplementation for AD prevention. For treatment options, strong recommendations are made in favor of the use of the following:

• Moisturizers;

• Topical calcineurin inhibitors;

• Topical corticosteroids;

• Crisaborole ointment;

• Roflumilast cream;

• Ruxolitinib cream;

• Tapinarof cream;

• Dupilumab;

• Tralokinumab;

• Lebrikizumab;

• Upadacitinib;

• Abrocitinib; and

• Baricitinib.

Conditional recommendations are made in favor of bathing, bleach baths, wet dressings, phototherapy, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, and cyclosporine, and against the use of topical antimicrobials and PUVA phototherapy. In addition, the use of systemic corticosteroids is strongly recommended against.

See the full guidelines in JAAD:

• Management of AD in pediatric patients

• Primary prevention of pediatric AD and the awareness of comorbidities

View the AAD guidelines disclaimer.