Use of emollients on the treatment of contact dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Autor(a) principal: Clara Alexandra Bastos Magalhães Barbedo Pinto
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/10216/142410
• topic: Medicina clínica; Clinical medicine

Although the morbidity of contact dermatitis is probably underestimated, it is an highly prevalent dermatosis, corresponding to 95% of all occupational skin diseases. Topical treatments as corticosteroids and the calcineurin inhibitors pimecrolimus and tacrolimus are commonly used for their anti-inflammatory properties as treatments in contact dermatitis. However, these treatments should be used for a limited time only and do not repair the skin barrier completely. Therefore, we aim to assess the effect of emollients on the treatment and prevention of contact dermatitis. The present review was oriented according to the PRISMA guidelines. The inclusion criteria were: trial-based study; population with contact dermatitis; and use of emollients as treatment of contact dermatitis. The meta-analysis was based on the R considered by Cochrane guidelines. Thirteen studies were selected for the qualitative analysis and four studies for the quantitative analysis. The results from de meta-analysis show a decrease of, on average, 0.76 points on erythema score (-1.26 to -0.27), and of 1.18 grams per square meters per hour in TEWL (-2.02 to -0.34). We concluded that the use of emollients on the treatment of contact dermatitis is essential to improve the barrier skin function and significantly decrease skin dehydration and erythema.