Efficacy and Safety of Proactive Therapy with 2% Crisaborole Ointment in Children with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: The effectiveness of crisaborole for proactive treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) is not well established.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of a proactive treatment strategy with 2% crisaborole ointment for managing mild-to-moderate AD in children.

Methods: In this 16-week randomized-controlled trial, children aged 2-17 years with mild-to-moderate AD were enrolled. All participants received treatment with 0.1% mometasone furoate cream for 2 weeks. Those with an IGA score of ≤ 1 were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the proactive treatment group, which received crisaborole combined with emollient twice daily, or the reactive treatment group, which received emollients alone, and in the event of disease relapse, both groups received 0.1% mometasone furoate cream as rescue treatment.

Results: Of the 153 patients screened, 142 were randomized; 73 to the proactive treatment group and 69 to the reactive treatment group. At the end of the 16-week trial, the proactive treatment group had a relapse rate of 43.84%, significantly lower than the 71.01% relapse rate in the reactive group (P = 0.001). Additionally, the proactive treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in the need for mometasone furoate prescriptions at weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16 (P < 0.05). Improvements were also observed in IGA, EASI, PP-NRS, and POEM scores at 12 weeks (P < 0.05). No significant differences in adverse events were found between the groups (χ2 = 2.237, P = 0.135).

Conclusions: Proactive treatment with crisaborole ointment for children older than 2 years with mild-to-moderate AD effectively reduces flare-ups and reliance on topical corticosteroids, demonstrating good tolerability and safety. ChiCTR2100054340 (Date of Trial Registration: 14 December 2021).