Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Dupilumab for the Treatment of Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Indian Patients: A Multi Centric Retrospective Study

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) is a real challenge for the dermatologists. Dupilumab is the first targeted biologic therapy approved for the treatment of children and adults with moderate-to-severe AD. The efficacy and safety of dupilumab in Indian patients is limited to date, it is necessary to assess the performance of this treatment in real clinical practice in the Indian context. METHODOLOGY: Patients from three centers of India, two from Kolkata and one from Bangalore were included in the study for retrospective chart analysis. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the SCORAD and EASI and impact on quality of life was assessed by DLQI scores. All patients received standard doses of Dupilumab. Any side effect of the treatment was noted in the bi-weekly follow-up visit. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients who were treated with dupilumab for at least 6 months were retrospectively included to study. The mean EASI score improved from 19.48 at baseline to 4.84 at six months. Seventeen patients (68%) achieved EASI 75 (≥75% improvement from baseline) at the end of 6 months of treatment. All these patients were earlier treated with at least one systemic immunomodulator without any significant improvement. The mean SCORAD score also improved with dupilumab treatment from 37.32 at baseline to 8.04 at six months. The improvement were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). The quality of life also improved significantly (P < 0.001) from a baseline mean of 17.08 at baseline to 6.52 at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: We observed significant efficacy, tolerability, and safety of dupilumab in Indian patients with AD in a real-world setting, which was similar to that shown in clinical trials in the western populations.