Adherence to Topical Hydrocortisone 17-Butyrate 0.1% in Different Vehicles in Adults with Atopic Dermatitis

In a study from 2009, researchers investigated adherence to topical hydrocortisone 17-butyrate 0.1% in different vehicles (cream, lipocream, or ointment) among 25 adult subjects with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis. The study found that overall adherence to the medication was 70%, with no significant difference in adherence between the three vehicle groups. All three groups showed significant improvement in disease severity after 2 weeks of treatment, with the ointment group showing a larger improvement, although this was only significantly different from the cream group in terms of the Investigators Global Assessment (IGA) mean scores. The study highlighted the variation in individual use of the medication and the tendency of patients to report near-perfect usage despite inconsistent actual use. The study concluded that poor compliance should be considered as a cause of treatment failure when atopic dermatitis does not improve with topical corticosteroids and that involving patients in the choice of medication vehicle may improve adherence.