Establishment and Utility of SwedAD: A Nationwide Swedish Registry for Patients with Atopic Dermatitis Receiving Systemic Pharmacotherapy

SwedAD, a Swedish nationwide registry for patients with atopic dermatitis receiving systemic pharmacotherapy, was launched on 1 September 2019. We describe here the establishment of a user-friendly registry to the benefit of patients with atopic dermatitis. By 5 November 2022, 38 clinics had recorded 931 treatment episodes in 850 patients with an approximate national coverage rate of 40%. Characteristics at enrolment included median Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) 10.2 (interquartile range 4.0, 19.4), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) 18.0 (10.0, 24.0), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) 11.0 (5.0, 19.0) and Peak Itch Numerical Rating Scale-11 (NRS-11) 6.0 (3.0, 8.0). At 3 months, median EASI was 3.2 (1.0, 7.3) and POEM, DLQI, and NRS-11 were improved. Regional coverage varied, reflecting the distribution of dermatologists, the ratio of public to private healthcare, and difficulties in recruiting certain clinics. This study highlights the importance of a nationwide registry when managing systemic pharmacotherapy of atopic dermatitis. SIGNIFICANCE SwedAD, a recently initiated Swedish nationwide quality registry for patients with atopic dermatitis, demonstrates the effectiveness of conventional and new systemic pharmacotherapy on clinical signs and symptoms. A well-designed quality registry is a helpful tool for patients and clinicians to achieve standardized evaluation of treatment for individual agents and over time. It allows clinicians and researchers to monitor efficacy and side-effects for different therapies and can aid in the planning and decision-making of clinicians and healthcare authorities.