Development of a Clinical Pathway for Atopic Dermatitis Patients: A Case-Based Approach

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic skin condition, associated with significant patient morbidity. There are a myriad of excellent evidenced based guidelines to guide clinicians by an extensive review of all the available treatments. However, while well written and complete these papers may not always allow easy transition to clinical application.

The purpose of this paper was to develop a practical case-based approach for the treatment and maintenance of AD, enabling translation of guidelines into clinical care.

After literature searches, selected AD trials and recent existing guidelines were reviewed. Using a nominal group process for consensus, an expert panel of Canadian dermatologists determined the case features and corresponding treatments.

A patient focused clinical pathway with 7 cases was developed. For each case scenario, treatment for mild, moderate, and severe disease was recommended.

A practical case-based clinical pathway was developed for easy clinical application and optimal patient care. J Drugs Dermatol. 2016;15(12):1485-1494.