Efficacy and safety of tacrolimus ointment compared with that of hydrocortisone butyrate ointment in adult patients with atopic dermatitis

Reitamo, Sakari, Rustin, Malcolm, Ruzicka, Thomas, Cambazard, Frédéric, Kalimo, Kirsti, Friedmann, Peter S., Schoepf, Erwin, Lahfa, Mourad, Diepgen, Thomas L., Judodihardjo, Harryono, Wollenberg, Andreas, Berth-Jones, John and Bieber, Thomas (2002) Efficacy and safety of tacrolimus ointment compared with that of hydrocortisone butyrate ointment in adult patients with atopic dermatitis. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 109 (3), 547-555. (doi:10.1067/mai.2002.121832).

Abstract

Background: Vehicle-controlled studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus ointment for patients with atopic dermatitis.
Objective: This study was undertaken to compare 0.03% and 0.1% tacrolimus ointment with 0.1% hydrocortisone-17-butyrate ointment, a midpotent to potent topical corticosteroid, in the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.
Methods: Patients applied ointment twice daily to all affected areas for 3 weeks in this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study. The primary endpoint was the modified eczema area and severity index (mEASI) mean area under the curve as a percentage of baseline.
Results: Five hundred seventy patients were randomized and received treatment. Discontinuations included 22 of 193 patients from the 0.03% tacrolimus group, 22 of 191 patients from the 0.1% tacrolimus group, and 17 of 186 patients from the hydrocortisone butyrate group. The median mEASI mean area under the curve as a percentage of baseline was 47.0%, 36.5%, and 36.1% for patients who received 0.03% tacrolimus, 0.1% tacrolimus, and 0.1% hydrocortisone butyrate, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between 0.1% tacrolimus and 0.1% hydrocortisone butyrate; however, the lower improvement in mEASI for 0.03% tacrolimus was statistically significant when compared with 0.1% tacrolimus (P < .001) or hydrocortisone butyrate (P = .002). Skin burning and pruritus at the application site showed a higher incidence in the tacrolimus treatment groups than in the hydrocortisone butyrate group (P < .05). Laboratory parameters showed no treatment differences and no marked changes over time.
Conclusions: The efficacy of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment was similar to that of 0.1% hydrocortisone butyrate ointment and was lower for 0.03% tacrolimus ointment. No serious safety concerns were identified.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Download statistics