Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2026 Feb 22. doi: 10.1007/s13555-026-01690-5. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Atopic dermatitis (AD) involving special areas such as the hands, head and neck, and genital region poses important therapeutic challenges owing to distinct barrier fragility, environmental exposure, and mixed Th1/Th2/Th17 activation. These sites often drive treatment escalation despite limited overall body surface involvement. Evidence on the real-world effectiveness of upadacitinib in these anatomical locations remains limited.
METHODS: A retrospective, observational multicenter study was conducted across five Spanish dermatology departments (November 2024 to November 2025). Adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe AD and involvement of at least one special area treated with upadacitinib (15 or 30 mg) for ≥ 16 weeks were included. Disease severity was assessed using the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), body surface area (BSA), pruritus numeric rating scale (NRS), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA), and local 0-4 Physician Global Assessment (PGA). Minimal disease activity (MDA) was defined as EASI ≤ 3 plus pruritus-NRS 0-1. Descriptive statistics were applied. Distribution-shift plots were used to analyze categorical changes in special areas.
RESULTS: Overall, 57 patients were included (mean age 47.9 ± 17.6 years, 59.6% women). Facial/neck, hand, and genital involvement were present in 73.7%, 61.4%, and 21.1% of patients, respectively; 31.9% had ≥ 2 special areas affected. Upadacitinib induced rapid improvement, with EASI decreasing from 18.9 to 2.7 at week 16 and 2.4 at week 52. MDA was reached by 61% at week 16 and 69% at week 52. Special-area PGA improved markedly across all sites.
CONCLUSIONS: Upadacitinib provided rapid, sustained, and clinically meaningful improvement in AD involving special areas, supporting its use in anatomically sensitive areas.
PMID:41723774 | DOI:10.1007/s13555-026-01690-5
