Guidelines for treatment of atopic dermatitis (atopic eczema) from American Academy of Dermatology, European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and Russian Society of Dermatovenereologists and Cosmetologisis. Expert’s opinion

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin condition treated by dermatologists all over the world. Guidelines for management and treatment of AD have appeared in Europe, USA and Russia recently. the paper contains comparison of European, American and Russian guidelines. Definition of AD, epidemiology, pathophysiology of the disease, clinical features, diagnostic criteria, and risk factors are consistently matched. the analysis demonstrated that guidelines do not contain serious contradictions and principal differences thus stressing their supplementation of each other

Nonprescription acne vulgaris treatments: Their role in our treatment armamentarium—An international panel discussion

Background: Acne vulgaris (acne), a common inflammatory skin disorder, has its peak incidence between 14 and 19 years of age, with girls frequently developing acne earlier than boys. Over recent years, persistent acne is becoming more prevalent in adult women. Objectives: This review and panel discussion addresses challenges in acne management, particularly in adult women. The role which nonprescription acne treatment can play is explored when used as monotherapy or as an adjunctive treatment for acne of all severity. Methods: The best available evidence on nonprescription acne treatment was coupled with the opinion of an international expert panel of dermatologists to adopt statements and recommendations discussed in this review. Results: All severity of acne has a significant burden on patients. Addressing environmental factors that are important for the individual with acne may help to educate, prevent, effectively manage, and maintain acne, as per the panel. They agreed that the adult female acne population has unique needs because of their aging skin and social environment. Nonprescription acne treatment products may help to balance the efficacy and tolerability of prescription acne treatment. Currently, there are no specific guidelines for how to use nonprescription acne treatment products in these patients. Conclusion: The panel agreed that guidelines including nonprescription acne treatment either as monotherapy for mild acne or in combination with prescription treatments for more severe acne would address a significant unmet need

A consensus-based practical and daily guide for the treatment of acne patients

Background: Many current guidelines provide detailed evidence-based recommendations for acne treatment. Objective: To create consensus-based, simple, easy-to-use algorithms for clinical acne treatment in daily office-based practice and to provide checklists to assist in determining why a patient may not have responded to treatment and what action to take. Methods: Existing treatment guidelines and consensus papers were reviewed. The information in them was extracted and simplified according to daily clinical practice needs using a consensus-based approach and based on the authors' clinical expertise. Results: As outcomes, separate simple algorithms are presented for the treatment of predominant comedonal, predominant papulopustular and nodular/conglobate acne. Patients with predominant comedonal acne should initially be treated with a topical retinoid, azelaic acid or salicylic acid. Fixed combination topicals are recommended for patients with predominant papulopustular acne with treatment tailored according to the severity of disease. Treatment recommendations for nodular/conglobate acne include oral isotretinoin or fixed combinations plus oral antibiotics in men, and these options may be supplemented with oral anti-androgenic hormonal therapy in women. Further decisions regarding treatment responses should be evaluated 8 weeks after treatment initiation in patients with predominant comedonal or papulopustular acne and 12 weeks after in those with nodular/conglobate acne. Maintenance therapy with a topical retinoid or azelaic acid should be commenced once a patient is clear or almost clear of their acne to prevent the disease from recurring. The principal explanations for lack of treatment response fall into 5 main categories: disease progression, non-drug-related reasons, drug-related reasons, poor adherence, and adverse events. Conclusion: This practical guide provides dermatologists with treatment algorithms adapted to different clinical features of acne which are simple and easy to use in daily clinical practice. The checklists to establish the causes for a lack of treatment response and subsequent action to take will facilitate successful acne management. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereolog