Importance: Clinical trial populations may not reflect clinical practice: knowledge generated in other settings can inform clinical decision-making.
Objective: To evaluate self-reported disease control and quality of life after initiating dupilumab treatment in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) in the the clinical setting.
Design, setting, and participants: This cohort study using an online survey administered prior to (baseline) and at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after dupilumab initiation included adults with moderate-to-severe AD who initiated treatment with dupilumab through the US patient support program and agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected between January 2018 and January 2020 and the analysis was completed in May 2020.
Interventions: Clinically driven treatment with dupilumab.
Main outcomes and measures: Disease control measured by the Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT); concomitant AD therapies; satisfaction with therapy; skin symptoms (skin pain/soreness, hot/burning feeling, sensitivity to touch) assessed using numerical rating scales; flares; health-related quality of life assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index; sleep problems assessed using the ADCT item and a stand-alone question; and the AD-specific Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire.
Results: Of 699 patients who initiated dupilumab (431 [61.7%] female, 515 [73.7%] White), 632 and 483 completed the survey at months 1 and 12, respectively. As-observed results showed that most patients achieved adequate disease control (ADCT total score) at month 1 with further improvement at month 12 (385 of 632 patients [60.9%] and 374 of 483 [77.4%] for the 2 time points, respectively, vs 41 of 699 [5.3%] at baseline; both P < .001). Use of other AD therapies was reduced at each follow-up vs baseline, including topical and systemic corticosteroids, which were reduced at month 12 to 40.4% (195 of 483 patients) and 6.2% (30 of 483 patients), respectively, from 68.1% (476 of 699) and 34.9% (244 of 699), respectively, at baseline (both P < .001 vs baseline). Patient satisfaction with AD treatment was higher than baseline (120 of 699 [17.7%]) at each follow-up to 85.1% (411 of 483) at month 12 (P < .001). At each follow-up, patients reported reductions in flares, itch, skin symptoms, and improved sleep, health-related quality of life, and daily activities vs baseline. Results were consistent based on observed data and imputed data using pattern mixture models for missing data.
Conclusions and relevance: Consistent with patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials, this cohort study found that dupilumab treatment was associated with rapid and sustained disease control for up to 12 months as demonstrated by statistically significant improvements relative to baseline on all patient-reported outcomes including treatment satisfaction.