Evaluation of Minor Clinical Features of Adolescence and Adult Atopic Dermatitis in Korea / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Three age-depedent clinical phases(infantile, childhood and adult phase) of atopic dermatitis(AD) were recognized. We think that for t he diagnosis of AD there seems to be some differences in minor clinical features of diagnosic significance according to each phase, yet only a few studies about them. OBJECTIVES: The purprrse of the present study was to evalute the diagnostic significance of total 39 minor clinical features of AD in Korean adolescenc and adult popluation, all but only skin were proposed by our previous study for Korean children. METHODS: The frequeney of 39 minor clinical features wistudied in 82 patients with typical AD compared to that in 109 control subjects. The age all studied individuals ranged from 13 to 42 years. Furthermore, some characteristic micro features of AD in them were compared with those from our previous study for Korean children. RESULTS: Twenty-seven minor features including xerosis, peifolhcular accentuation, frontal lichenification, anterior neck folds, eyelid eczema, Dennie-Mogan folds, auricular fissure/eczema, pityriasis alba, ventiral wrist eczema, infragluteal eczcm, sandpaper-like skin lesions on elbow/knee/lateral malleblus, white dermographism, scalaling, Hertoghes sign, orbital darkening, cheilitis, facial erythema/pallor, hyperlinear paln, ichthyosiform skin lesions, nipple eczema, nummular eczema, pompholyx, itchy hyperker totic lesions of dorsal hands, knuckle dermatitis of hands, hangnail, non-specific hand/foot dermatitis, chronic dermatophytosis were shown to be of much diagnostic signiic, nce(P<0.001). CONCLUSION: We think tiat 13 minor features such as Hert piges sign, cheilitis, facial erythe- mapallor, hyperlinear ichthyosiform skin lesions, ripile eczema, nummular eczema, pompholyx, itchy hyperkpratotic lesions of dorsal hands, kzukle dermatitis of hands, hangnail, non-specific hand/foot dermatitis, chronic dermato h tosis are specific for Korean adolescence and adult population with AD. Taken together, to propose that these 13 minor features be added to a gardeline for the large scale field sirvy on the incidence and prevalence of AD in the Korea adolescence and adult population.