The UK-Irish atopic eczema systemic therapy cohort (A-STAR)

Research summary

The purpose of the research is to collect information from adult and children with eczema, starting certain treatments, referred to as ‘systemic immuno-modulators’. As eczema is often a long-term condition, it is important to establish how well these medicines work with regard to improvement in disease severity, quality of life and also safety, especially when these are used for longer periods of time. All medicines prescribed for eczema in clinics have already undergone careful testing in clinical trials, however, the picture we get from clinical trials is not complete. This project intends to fill this gap in knowledge and collect information on patients treated with systemic immuno-modulators attending regular dermatology clinics. Patients who have other health problems but nevertheless start one of these medications will also be included, making the results more representative of the “real world” use of these medicines. Rates of medical side effects will be compared between medications, and the results will then be used to provide clinicians and patients with a better picture of any potential increased risk of these therapies. Additionally, this study will look into the ‘real life’ cost of treating eczema, examining how much these therapies cost in the long term, compared to how well they work. As part of this study, we also intend to set up a Biorepository, where patients will be asked to provide optional blood and skin samples to help us better understand how eczema develops and why some therapies work better in some people, or cause more side effects in others. This is a fully optional section of the research.

Principal Investigator

Ms Laura Davey

Contact us

Email: melanie.westmoreland@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

237309