A group of researchers from different countries conducted a study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
L’acne represents the most common side effect seen with upadacitinib treatment in patients with Atopic dermatitis moderate to severe. A group of researchers from different countries conducted a study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, with the aim of evaluating the incidence of acne as a side effect related to upadacitinib treatment.
The study adopted an integrated post hoc analysis of three randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III studies involving the use of upadacitinib alone in two studies or in combination with topical corticosteroids in another study. The data analyzed covered a 16-week placebo-controlled treatment period.
The results showed that during the 16 weeks of treatment, acne occurred in 9.8% of patients treated with upadacitinib 15 mg, 15.2% of patients treated with upadacitinib 30 mg and only 2.2%, respectively. % of patients treated with placebo.
Most of the acne cases found during the study were mild or moderate in severity, and only two patients discontinued treatment due to moderate acne. In addition, acne was more frequent in younger, non-white female patients.
Overall, 40.5% of patients treated with upadacitinib 15 mg and 46.6% of those treated with upadacitinib 30 mg did not require any intervention to manage treatment-related acne. In the remaining cases, the acne was managed with topical therapies such as antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide and retinoids. Fortunately, acne had no negative impact on patient-reported outcomes.
The conclusions of the analysis indicated that acne associated with treatment with upadacitinib for atopic dermatitis is generally mild to moderate in severity and can be managed effectively with topical therapies or without any specific intervention.
However, the investigators pointed out some limitations of the study, including the short duration of the observation and the small sample size of the patients considered. These results provide valuable information on the safety and efficacy of upadacitinib in the treatment of atopic dermatitis, but further studies may be needed to further understand this side effect and confirm the results obtained.
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