Quality of life in children with atopic dermatitis: A one-year prospective cohort study

Background: Literature on the quality of life trends across time in children with atopic dermatitis are scarce. Aims: To assess factors associated with quality of life of children with atopic dermatitis after a one-year follow-up and to examine the factors contributing to greater improvement in the atopic dermatitis-related quality of life over one year. Methods: Our cohort consisted of 98 children who were treated for atopic dermatitis at the clinic of dermatovenereology. Data collection included atopic dermatitis scoring using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) for children aged > four years and Infants’ Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDLQI) for children aged 0–4 years. Categorization of the impairment of quality of life score due to atopic dermatitis was as follows: mild (score from 0 to 6), moderate (score from 7 to 12) and severe (score from 13 to 30). The cohort was followed for one year after which a total of 80 children were reassessed. Results: Improvements of both CDLQI and IDLQI were observed in children whose impairment of quality of life due to atopic dermatitis after one year was ‘mild’. This was not observed in children whose atopic dermatitis caused either ‘moderate’ or ‘severe impairment’ of their quality of life. Adjusted analysis showed that lower initial SCORAD and greater improvement in SCORAD after the one-year follow-up were associated with a better quality of life at follow-up. Limitations: The size of our cohort was relatively small. Study participants were recruited from the largest urban and medical referral center in Serbia. Persons from suburban or rural regions may have had different perceptions of atopic dermatitis-related quality of life. Conclusion: Children with less severe atopic dermatitis were more likely to improve their atopic dermatitis-related quality of life. Lower SCORAD was associated with both better quality of life initially and greater improvement in quality of life after one year of follow-up

Congenital self-healing histiocytosis presenting as blueberry muffin baby: A case report and literature review.

Congenital self-healing Langerhans cell histiocytosis (CSHLCH), also called as Hashimoto-Pritzker disease, is a rare, benign variant of histiocytosis. Despite the initial dramatic clinical presentation, affected infants are otherwise healthy and skin lesions disappear spontaneously within several weeks to months. We present a case of CSHLCH presenting as blueberry muffin baby. The lesions appeared in the first week of life and lasted 6 months. The follow-up period was 24 months, without any signs of relapse. At the pediatric dermatology unit of our clinic, during the last 20 years, we had 10 children with Langerhans cell histiocytosis and among them only one with CSHLCH. In the literature, we found only 5 newborns with Langerhans cell histiocytosis presenting as blueberry muffin baby, among them only 4 with self-healing CSHLCH. The early recognition of CSHLCH may spare children from redundant and potentially toxic systemic treatment.