Considerations for the Use of Biologics in Children with Atopic Dermatitis

Dawn Eichenfield (00:07):

Hi, my name is Dawn Eichenfield and I am a pediatric dermatologist at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. I am also assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California in San Diego. I predominantly see pediatric and adolescent patients in my practice. I also see some adults because some of our kids like to stay with us into their early 20s.

(00:30):

So there are now a number of biologics that we can use in pediatric and adolescent patients. In pediatric patients, we are still kind of limited to Dupilumab that is approved six months and up. For our adolescent patients 12 and up, we can use a number of other varieties. There is Lebrikizumab, Tralokinumab, Nemolizumab. And also, there are JAK inhibitors, both Abrocitinib and Upadacitinib that are FDA-approved for these individuals.

(01:04):

I think most of the time we are starting our patients on a biologic instead of a JAK inhibitor, just because of how the label states to start out with the biologic first. We are also talking to families about it, and most of the time families do want to utilize a medication that has, quote unquote, more safety, a better safety profile. And sometimes for some families, a JAK inhibitor may be a little less safe in their eyes.