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Wet wrap therapy improves dermatitis symptoms in children

Wet wrap therapy was beneficial as an acute intervention for children with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in whom other therapies have failed, according to researchers.

The observational cohort study included 72 children with a primary or secondary diagnosis of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) and previous failed outpatient therapy. The study’s primary outcome was AD severity improvement as indicated by SCORAD.

Standard of care treatment included a 10- to 15-minute bath in warm water, followed by immediate application of a topical medication to eczematous lesions and moisturizers to the clear areas. Patients were prescribed two to three supervised baths per day, depending on the severity of their AD, followed by the topical medications, moisturizers and wet wrap therapy. Wet wraps were left in place for a minimum of 2 hours.

Mean ±SD SCORAD values improved significantly from the time of admission to time of discharge, according to the researchers (49.68 vs. 14.83).

Based on the AD severity classification used for this study, 25 of the 33 patients with severe conditions improved to a mild state and 8 of the 33 patients with severe conditions improved to moderate, with every patient with a severe condition showing improvement.

None of the patients required systemic immunosuppressive therapy during the treatment program, according to the researchers; 31% were treated with an oral antibiotic.

The lasting benefit of wet wrap therapy was seen 1 month after discontinuing the treatment.

Disclosure: Nicol is on the International Skin care Nursing Group Advisory Board. The remaining authors have no relevant financial disclosures.