A colloidal oat-containing baby wash is gentle and effective for atopic-prone skin

Despite accumulating data supporting the effectiveness of colloidal oatmeal-based moisturizers in improving mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis (AD), evidence in paediatric populations is limited. This study evaluated the tolerability and effectiveness of a colloidal oatmeal-containing baby wash formulation in babies prone to AD, based on clinical and parental assessments.

In this 4-week, single-centre, nonrandomized study of babies (3-36 months) prone to AD (per an AD-prone skin recruiting questionnaire developed in-house), parents/legal guardians used the baby wash on their babies ≥3 times per week (no more than once daily), each bath lasting ≤20 min. The overall skin condition (scored from 0/excellent to 3/poor) and cutaneous tolerance scoring of dryness, redness/erythema, rash/irritation and tactile roughness on the baby's face, arms, legs and torso (each scored from 0/none to 3/severe) were assessed clinically at baseline, Week 1 and Week 4. Cutaneous tolerance scoring of burning/stinging and itching on those body sites was evaluated by the parent per the latter scale at all visits. At study end, the parental questionnaire evaluated the level of agreement/disagreement with statements regarding the baby wash. Safety measures included adverse events and changes in health (per the parents or clinicians).

Of 29 infant-parent pairs enrolled, 24 (82.8%) completed the study. All 24 babies were White/Caucasian; 13 (54.2%) were male. The overall skin condition mean score showed no statistically significant change from baseline (0.54) at Weeks 1 (0.33) and 4 (0.29). Per the investigator-rated cutaneous tolerance scores, >87% of body sites exhibited no dryness, redness/erythema, rash/irritation or tactile roughness at Week 4. For each parameter, significant improvements from baseline were observed at Week 4 for the combined skin sites (p < 0.05). Per the parent-rated cutaneous tolerance scores, nearly all sites had no burning/stinging or itching at Week 4. Itching for the combined sites demonstrated significant improvements from baseline at Week 4 (p < 0.05). The parental questionnaire revealed statistically significantly more favourable experiences with the baby wash than unfavourable experiences. Four babies experienced five mild, treatment-unrelated adverse events.

The study findings indicate that the colloidal oatmeal-containing baby wash was well tolerated and effective when used in babies with AD-prone skin.