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Published on: August 7, 2017
Dupilumab Treatment for Atopic Dermatitis Is Associated With Decreased Risk of Otitis Media and Related Surgical
Matthew H Lanehart1, Breanne Hayes2, Zachary Zinn1
1Department of Dermatology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate the risk of otitis media (OM) and related surgical procedures among population-based, propensity score-matched cohorts of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) treated with dupilumab compared to those treated with pimecrolimus.
Methods:
The TriNetX research network was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study estimating the risk of all OM, nonsuppurative OM, suppurative OM, and subsequent surgical intervention in patients with AD treated with dupilumab compared to those treated with pimecrolimus, including an age-stratified analysis focused on pediatric patients. Cohorts were propensity score matched by age at index, current age, sex, race, other atopies, and exposure to tobacco smoke. 5-year Cox proportional hazards models with 95% confidence intervals were analyzed.
Results:
This study demonstrates that compared to those treated with pimecrolimus, AD patients treated with dupilumab have a significantly decreased 5-year risk of all OM (HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.54-0.67; p < 0.001), nonsuppurative OM (HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.52-0.70; p < 0.001), suppurative OM (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.55-0.69; p < 0.001), and related surgical procedures (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.58-0.90; p = 0.004), with similar results found among those < 18 years old.
Conclusions:
Overall, reduced risk of OM and related surgical procedures is observed in patients with AD treated with dupilumab compared to those treated with pimecrolimus.

