Table 3 Severity index, number of patients and use of topical treatments of the studies included in the systematic review
Author, country and year | Number of patients | Baseline SCORAD | SCORAD after treatment | Type of the control group (healthy controls or patients with AD without probiotics) | Topical treatment allowed? | Number of patients that completed the study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roessler et al., Alemanha 2007 [31] | 15 healthy subjects 19 patients with AD | 24.0 [95% confidence interval (CI), 20.6–26.7] | 21.9 (95% CI, 19.3–24.4) (8 weeks) | Healthy controls | Yes. The topical glucocorticoid Advantans (Scheming, Berlin, Germany) (1 mg/g) was administrated in the case of need | 14 patients with AD (4 dropped out) and 15 healthy controls |
Kaur et al., Estonia 2008 [33] | 16 patients | Probiotic group: 4.8 ± 3.9 • Placebo group: 4.8 ± 2.8 | Probiotic group: 1.9 ± 1.8 (12 weeks) Placebo group: 2.3 ± 0.9 (12 weeks) | Patients with AD without probiotics (placebo group) | Yes. The patients were allowed to use different emollient creams for everyday use (Eucerin®, Baierstorf, Hamburg; Decubal®, Dumex-Alpharma; Linola® fett N and Wolff Basis crème, Dr. August Wolff GmbH & Co, Arzneimittel, Germany; Aqualan® Orion Pharma) | 16 patients |
Drago et al., Itália 2011 [32] | 38 adult patients | Probiotic group: 27.57 ± 3.4 Placebo group: 24.28 ± 2.15 | Probiotic group: 13.14 ± 0.27 (16 weeks) Placebo group: 20.14 ± 0.27 (16 weeks) | Patients with AD without probiotics (placebo group) | Yes. The patients were allowed to use different emollient creams | 38 patients |
Moroi et al., Japão 2011 [28] | 34 patients | Did not use SCORAD, but Japanese dermatological association score Probiotic group: 3.71 ± 1.76 Placebo group: 4.47 ± 2.00 | Probiotic group: 1.00 ± 1.21 (12 weeks) Placebo group: d)0.71 ± 1.99 (12 weeks) | Patients with AD without probiotics (placebo group) | Yes. The patients were allowed to use topical corticosteroid and tacrolimus | 34 patients |
Roessler et al., Alemanha 2012 [29] | 34 patients | SCORAD was only evaluated as an inclusion criterion for patients in their study Patients had a SCORAD score of 5–30 | Not evaluated | Healthy controls | Did not mention | 30 patients |
Matsumoto et al., Japão 2014 [30] | 44 patients | Probiotic group: 7.5(0.9) Placebo group: 7.6(0.9) | Not evaluated | Patients with AD without probiotics (placebo group) | Yes. The patients were allowed to use their medications as usual | 44 patients |
Fang et al., China 2020 [41] | 120 patients | Placebo group: 19.62 (10.24) Oligose group: 17.31 (11.93) Bifdobacterium bifidum CCFM16 group: 21.64 (16.13) Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8610 group: 18.79 (16.06) | The CCFM 8610 group significantly decreased the SCORAD index (8 weeks) | Patients with AD without probiotics (placebo group) | Did not mention | 109 patients |