THE USE OF TOPICAL TACROLIMUS IN THE TREATMENT OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease that usually begins in childhood and may improve into adolescence or persist into adulthood. It is characterized by dry skin, itchying and reddened lesions. Some factors such as stress, climate changes, low humidity, allergens can trigger and/or aggravate the disease. The disease has no cure, but it can be controlled with appropriate treatment. The treatment of the disease consists of preventing skin irritation, using emollients after bathing and frequent applications to restore the skin barrier, as well as topical medications to relieve itching symptoms and improve the inflammation of the lesions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using calcineurin inhibitors as an alternative to conventional treatment with corticosteroids for AD. Scientific articles available free of charge in the following databases were searched: PubMed®, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Google Scholar and specialized books. Clippings of publications from the last ten years (2013-2023) were made, in English and Portuguese, with the following descriptors: tacrolimus and atopic dermatitis. Among topical drugs, corticosteroids are the first line of treatment and are very effective in short-term use because they have adverse effects such as skin atrophy with chronic use. The topical calcineurin inhibitors available are pimecrolimus and tacrolimus, with tacrolimus being evaluated as more effective, but both are well tolerated for controlling the inflammatory process without significant long therm adverse effects, making them suitable for maintenance therapy, increasing the time between one crisis and another.