Assessment and Monitoring Challenges among Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis across Fitzpatrick Skin Types

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin condition that affects people of all ages, races, and ethnicities. The condition is heterogeneous in both clinical presentation (phenotype) and underlying pathobiology (endotype). Atopic dermatitis diagnosis, assessment, and monitoring rely on clinical evaluation because there are no definitive biomarkers for AD. This review addresses variation in the clinical presentation of AD across the spectrum of Fitzpatrick skin types, with an emphasis on clinical evaluation challenges in patients with skin of color. We present photographs from phase 3 clinical trials that evaluated the safety and efficacy of upadacitinib among patients with moderate-to-severe AD and demonstrate the challenges in evaluating the clinical signs of AD (erythema and excoriation in patients with dark skin types and lichenification in those with light skin types) by illustrating the changes in clinical signs and symptoms that can be achieved with targeted systemic therapies.