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Characteristics associated with clinical response to Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy in pediatric patients
Davide Geat1, Mattia Giovannini2, Ezio Gabriele Barlocco3
1Department of Medicine, Section of Dermatology and Venerology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Insights
Balneotherapy using Comano thermal spring water effectively reduced atopic dermatitis (AD) severity in children. Younger children, those with early-onset or severe AD, and those with food allergies showed the best response.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Pediatrics
- Thermotherapy
Background:
- Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin condition in children.
- Balneotherapy has shown promise in managing AD, but patient characteristics influencing response are not well-defined.
- Previous studies often involved small cohorts, limiting generalizability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify patient characteristics associated with clinical response to Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy in a large pediatric AD cohort.
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of this specific balneotherapy for pediatric AD.
Main Methods:
- An observational study included 867 children (≤16 years) with mild to severe AD.
- Patients underwent balneotherapy at the Comano thermal spring water center.
- Disease severity was assessed using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index before and after treatment.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant reduction in AD severity was observed post-balneotherapy (p < 0.0001).
- Children ≤4 years old, those with early-onset AD, severe AD, or coexisting food allergies showed significantly greater improvement.
- The treatment was well-tolerated with no significant adverse effects.
Conclusions:
- Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy is a safe and effective complementary treatment for pediatric AD.
- The therapy is particularly beneficial for younger children, those with early-onset or severe AD, and those with concomitant food allergies.
Background:
Several studies have investigated the efficacy of balneotherapy in atopic dermatitis (AD), including a pediatric open randomized clinical trial conducted at the Comano thermal spring water center, which showed a significant reduction in AD severity and an improvement of the quality of life. However, so far many studies on balneotherapy in pediatric AD have included relatively small populations without identifying patients' characteristics associated with their response. The aim of the present study was to identify any features associated with the clinical response to the Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy in a large cohort of pediatric AD patients.
Methods:
An observational study was conducted on 867 children aged ≤16 years (females 50.5%, mean patient's age 5.9 years, standard deviation ±3.6 years) with mild to severe AD who underwent balneotherapy at the Comano thermal spring water center (Comano, Trentino, Italy) from April to October 2014. Patients were stratified according to their disease severity, which was evaluated using five SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) categories before and immediately after a thermal spring water balneotherapy course. Potential characteristics associated with the patients' clinical response to Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy were investigated.
Results:
A statistically significant improvement in AD severity was observed after Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy (p < 0.0001). A significantly higher percentage of patients achieving improvement in AD severity was reported among children ≤4 years old (p < 0.0001) with early-onset AD (p < 0.0001), severe AD (p < 0.0001) or coexistent reported food allergies (p < 0.01). The therapy was well tolerated, and no relevant adverse effects were reported during the treatment course.
Conclusions:
Comano thermal spring water balneotherapy is a safe complementary treatment for pediatric patients with AD, as it was able to reduce the disease severity, especially in children ≤4 years old, with early onset AD, severe AD or concomitant food allergies.
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