How effective are calcineurin inhibitors in treating moderate to severe atopic dermatitis?
For the short-term treatment of moderate to severe disease, studies directly comparing tacrolimus 0.03% ointment with pimecrolimus 1% cream are lacking. Indirect comparisons from vehicle-controlled trials of tacrolimus 0.03% ointment and pimecrolimus 1% cream suggest little difference between the topical calcineurin inhibitors in treatment success, reducing pruritus, or the patient’s assessment of how their dermatitis has been controlled. Results from indirect comparisons should be considered with caution due to wide variations in treatment effect (that is, large confidence interval) and small sample size. There is mixed evidence when higher strength tacrolimus 0.1% ointment is compared with pimecrolimus 1% cream. Direct comparisons between the topical calcineurin inhibitors found tacrolimus 0.1% ointment to be more effective than pimecrolimus 1% cream, while indirect evidence found little statistical difference between the treatment groups in achieving treatment success. In general, p
