Detoxification combining fasting with fluid therapy for refractory cases of severe atopic dermatitis

To introduce and determine the clinical benefits of a detoxification program that combines fasting with fluid therapy for refractory cases of severe atopic dermatitis (AD), we performed a retrospective chart review of inpatients with AD from March 2010 to February 2012 at the Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Dermatology of Korean Medicine in the Kyung Hee Medical Center. Patients were treated with the detoxification program, which combined fasting with fluid therapy, and herbal medicine, herbal wet wrap dressings, or acupuncture treatment when clinically necessary. The primary outcome was the SCORAD total index. The secondary outcome was the pruritus visual analogue scale (VAS) score in SCORAD as evaluated by a trained dermatology specialist. Among the 130 inpatients that have done detoxification, 7 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean total SCORAD scores significantly decreased from 64.67 ± 11.72 to 26.26 ± 11.01 (P = 0.018) after the detoxification program. There was also a significant decrease in VAS score for pruritus from 8.00 ± 1.16 to 2.57 ± 0.98 (P = 0.016) between admission and discharge. We suggest that fasting with fluid therapy as a complementary and alternative treatment method may provide some benefits for patients with refractory cases of severe atopic dermatitis.