Atopic Dermatitis Education Gaps with Dermatologists, with Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, and Mona Shahriari, MD

In the field of dermatology, there are a variety of therapeutic options that are being reviewed or have already been approved for atopic dermatitis. Despite the widespread availability of management strategies for this inflammatory skin condition, there may still be gaps among dermatologists and health providers with regard to atopic dermatitis.

The HCPLive editorial team reached out to Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School, and Mona Shahriai, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, to discuss potential gaps in atopic dermatitis-related education. First, the team spoke with Chovatiya about his opinion on the topic.

“Atopic dermatitis, or dermatology in general, is really becoming an immunologic disease state and an immunologic specialty,” Chovatiya explained. “So it shouldn't surprise anybody that, as someone who's been a big proponent of immunology-based education for years, it's really going to have to go into overdrive for the next generation and even for the current dermatology healthcare practitioners out there. This is because it is impossible to understand why you would choose any specific therapy anymore, unless you understand a bit about the immunology behind the disease and the target itself.”

Shahriari also responded to this question, highlighting her views on gaps in education and addressing improvements in the identification of patients requiring systemic treatments.

“We are not doing a great job at identifying patients who are moderate to severe and need to go on systemic therapy,” Shahriari said. “That's why I tend to look at patients not as mild, moderate, or severe, which are cookie-cutter definitions based on objective criteria of how patients’ skin looks. But I look at people [thinking], ‘Are you a candidate for systemics or are you a candidate for topicals?’”

Shahirari highlighted a variety of patient types that might require an evaluation for systemic treatment, pointing to such examples as those with disease-impacted body surface area (BSA) over 10% and those for whom topicals have not worked.

“The other thing is that for some body parts [such as] the hands and the face, they can be much more troubling for patients from a quality of life standpoint,” she explained. “So again, this is a place where we need to escalate treatment.”

Shahriari also noted that improved education for both dermatologists and primary care providers is going to be required in this area.

For additional information on these topics, view the full video interviews with Shahriari and Chovatiya posted above.

The quotes contained in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.