568 - Persistent inadequate disease control and therapeutic inertia in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: a 12-month longitudinal analysis of real-world outcomes from TARGET-DERM registry

Abstract Background Therapeutic inertia refers to the delay or failure to escalate treatment in patients who are not achieving adequate disease control and poses a challenge in the management of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD). Despite the availability of conventional (CST) and advanced systemic therapies (AST) currently utilized for the treatment of moderate to severe AD, many patients do not achieve treatment success. However, the extent of this inadequacy in real-world clinical practice remains underexplored. Objectives This study aims to evaluate the occurrence therapeutic inertia (assessed as non-escalation of therapy despite limited disease control) and the proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe AD who continue to show an inadequate response after receiving systemic therapies for a duration ranging from 3 to 12 months. Methods We conducted a longitudinal analysis of patients with moderate-to-severe AD (vIGA-AD≥3) from the TARGET-DERM AD registry, including 3,457 participants from 39 centers in the U.S. and Canada. Eligible patients had documented outcomes at the initiation of systemic therapy and after 3 months up to 12 months of follow up. We assessed clinician- and patient-reported outcomes to identify the proportion of patients not meeting pre-defined targets based on expert consensus. An inadequate response was defined as not achieving a validated Investigator Global Assessment (vIGA-AD) score ≤2, a 50% improvement in Body Surface Area (BSA), and a ≥4-point reduction in the Worst Pruritus Numeric Rating Scale (WP-NRS). An optimal response was defined as a vIGA-AD score ≤1 (clear or almost clear skin), BSA ≤2%, and WP-NRS itch score of 0/1 (complete or almost complete skin resolution). Results Out of 2,107 patients with moderate-to-severe AD, 445 met the inclusion criteria. The majority were adults (63.8%), female (62.0%), and Non-Hispanic White (45.4%), with an average age of 31 years. Most patients (88.8%) initiated treatment with AST, with dupilumab being the most common (86.5%). The mean vIGA-AD was 3.3 for AST and 3.6 for CST at initiation (P<0.01). At 6 months, 37% and 67% of AST-treated patients had inadequate responses in terms of skin clearance and itch outcomes, respectively, while 82% and 79% did not achieve optimal responses. At 12 months, these figures were approximately 30% and 66% for inadequate responses and 85% and 88% for not achieving optimal responses, respectively. CST-treated patients showed a similar trend. Conclusions The study reveals a significant portion of moderate-to-severe AD patients fail to achieve adequate disease control with systemic therapies over 12 months, indicating a substantial presence of therapeutic inertia. These findings suggest a need for more proactive management strategies in AD treatment.

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