Clinical Snippets

Itch Intensity Scales Correlate with Cytokine Levels in Atopic DermatitisNumerous validated scales have been utilized to measure itch, which is the cardinal symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD); however, this variety presents challenges in clinical routine and interpretation of clinical trial data.Witte et al examined the comparative validity of these itch intensity scales in combination with QOL measurements and blood cytokine levels sensitive to change during treatment of 49 patients with AD with dupilumab.All examined itch intensity scales reliably measured itch in AD regardless of the recall period and correlated with the QOL assessment tools.Nevertheless, it is recommendable to adhere to the same scale for a given patient in everyday clinical practice.Of the cytokines studied, macrophage-derived chemokine, CCL26, B-cell-activating factor, and IL-2R levels were significantly reduced after treatment and correlated with all or subsets of itch intensity and QOL scores.The correlation of objective cytokine levels and subjective itch scales encourages the use of the former as disease burden markers in AD in the future.See page 2812