Abstract:

Zhang Yingbo, Xiang Yaping, Huang Jinhua, Gao Lihua, Chen Meilin, Kathy Wu, Li Miaomiao, Chen Jing, Yang Shengbo, Lu Jianyun Department of Dermatology, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410013, China Corresponding author: Lu Jianyun, Email: 1010739024@qq.com 【Abstract】 Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of combined ozone hydrotherapy for the treatment of atopic dermatitis （AD）. Methods A total of 60 patients with moderate or severe AD aged from 6 to 65 years were enrolled, and randomly and equally divided into a test group and a control group. Both the two groups were treated with oral levocetirizine capsules 5 mg once a day, topical tacrolimus ointment twice a day, and topical moisturizers. The test group was additionally treated with ozone hydrotherapy 3 - 5 times every week. The treatment lasted 2 weeks. The severity scoring of atopic dermatitis （SCORAD） score, visual analog scale （VAS） score, dermatology life quality index （DLQI） or children′s dermatology life quality index （CDLQI） score were assessed before and after the treatment, and compared between the two groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to measure the levels of interleukin-4 （IL-4） and nerve growth factor （NGF） in peripheral blood from the patients before and after the treatment. Results After 2-week treatment, the SCORAD scores, VAS scores and DLQI/CDLQI scores significantly decreased from 42.13 ± 16.03, 7.14 ± 2.12 and 14.92 ± 5.94 before the treatment to 27.3 ± 11.01, 2.23 ± 1.31 and 9.69 ± 4.17 respectively in the test group （all P < 0.05）, and from 43.36 ± 17.78, 6.45 ± 1.29 and 15.15 ± 5.40 to 39.65 ± 16.67, 3.32 ± 0.87 and 12.84 ± 5.37 respectively in the control group （all P < 0.05）. In addition, all the three scores were significantly lower in the test group than in the control group after 2-week treatment （all P < 0.05）. A significant decline was also observed in the levels of IL-4 and NGF in peripheral blood in the two groups at the end of the treatment compared with those at baseline （all P < 0.05）, and the magnitude of decline in IL-4 levels was significantly higher in the test group than in the control group （t = 8.57, P < 0.05）, while that in NGF levels was insignificantly different between the two groups （t = 9.51, P > 0.05）. Conclusion Combined ozone hydrotherapy can effectively and safely improve the condition of patients with AD, likely by decreasing the levels of IL-4 in peripheral blood.