The following is a summary of “Impact of dupilumab on patch test results and allergic contact dermatitis: A prospective multicenter study,” published in the March 2024 issue of Dermatology by Bocquel, et al.
Limited and conflicting data exist regarding the effects of dupilumab (DUPI) on patch test (PT) results and its efficacy against allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). For a study, researchers sought to analyze PT reactivities and relevance during DUPI treatment to determine their ability to detect ACD in patients with uncontrolled or worsened atopic dermatitis (AD) receiving the agent.
The prospective, multicenter study involved 76 DUPI-treated patients who underwent PTs. Data were collected during three visits to assess PT reactivities and clinical relevance.
Of the participants, 36 patients (47%) had at least one positive PT reaction, resulting in 142 positive PT results. There were clinically relevant positive PT results in 23 patients (30%), with five experiencing clinical eczema improvement after allergen avoidance. A comparison of PT results before and during DUPI therapy in 36 patients revealed 1,230 paired PT allergens, with 1,022 remaining the same, 34 becoming positive, 44 lost, and 130 uninterpretable. The study’s limitations include the limited number of included patients, suggesting the need for confirmation with a larger sample size.
The study confirmed the utility of PTs in DUPI-treated patients, demonstrating good PT reproducibility. It suggested that DUPI-treated AD patients experiencing partial responses or worsening symptoms should undergo PTs to assess for contact sensitization.
Reference: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(23)03032-3/abstract
