Outpatient, short-term, once-daily, diluted, 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wraps for childhood atopic eczema

Seven female and five male children with severe atopic eczema who had failed to respond to conventional topical steroid and emollient application were treated with a 2-week course of once-daily diluted 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wraps. Their mean age was 8.5 years (range 3-12 years). The treatment was carried out on an outpatient basis for 10-12 h daily. Clinical severity scores (CSS) measuring the severity of clinical lesions and self-assessment scores (SAS) referring to scores of symptom severity reported by the patients/parents were recorded. A significant improvement as shown by a marked reduction in CSS and SAS was seen in 11 patients, and overall mean scores were significantly improved (P<0.005). Adverse effects were mild, tolerable and self-limiting, and posttreatment early morning plasma cortisol levels were not depressed. We conclude that supervised outpatient treatment with diluted 0.1% mometasone furoate wet-wrap dressings is a very effective and safe short-term treatment for severe atopic eczema in children who have failed conventional treatment with steroid and emollient applications.