Qué debemos saber de la dermatitis atópica en la infancia. Actualización terapéutica

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent, inflammatory disease, whose principal symptom is pruritus and who prevalence is especially high in the pediatric age. AD has a negative repercussion in different areas of the quality of life of the patients, and especially in children, since the alteration of sleep, school and leisure activities on the emotional level, etc. has a substantial effect on the family and social setting. Thus, active participation of the physician and the education of the patient and parents are very important for an optimum approach to this disease. The pathophysiology of AD is complex, with the intervention of genetic, immunological and environmental factors. It has been observed that there is subclinical inflammation in the apparently non-injured skin after the resolution of an episode. This finding, together with the dysfunction of the epidermal barrier that is characteristic of atopic skin, is the basis of a new paradigm of treatment whose objective is not only to treat the episode but also to control the disease more in the longer term.