Prognostic value of Hanifin and Rajka's feature sets in adult atopic dermatitis patients

Prognostication of the course of atopic dermatitis (AD) is of special importance in prophylaxis of this disease. The aim of the study was to describe the AD minor feature sets, according to Hanifin and Rajka, on the basis of which one can predict the occurrence of extensive skin lesions, allergic rhinitis, atopic bronchial asthma, cataracts, hand and/or foot dermatitis, food intolerance, urticaria and elevated IgE serum in AD patients. Two-hundred-fifty-four patients were included in the study. Minor feature sets of prognostic value were selected using the MANOVA method in conjunction with the discriminant analysis. On the basis of the above sets, one can predict: involvement of more than 60% of body surface, occurrence of allergic rhinitis, elevated serum IgE, cataracts, atopic bronchial asthma, food intolerance and urticaria with the probability ratio of 90.8%, 82.8%, 79.9%, 78.4%, 77.3%, 77.1% and 76.1% respectively. In the examined group, no association was found between hand and/or foot dermatitis and the tendency towards skin infection.