A new guideline devised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is set to improve the management and treatment of atopic eczema in children.  The guideline, developed by a group which included Bristol University’s Dr Sarah Purdy, contains the most comprehensive review and analysis of available evidence on ways to improve the quality of life of both children and their parents when managing this very common condition.

The main objective of the guideline is to provide guidance on the routine management of atopic eczema in primary care for children from birth up to 12 years of age.

Key recommendations from the guideline include the following:

• Healthcare professionals should adopt a holistic approach when assessing a child’s atopic eczema at each consultation, taking into account the severity of the atopic eczema and the child’s quality of life, including everyday activities and sleep, and psychosocial wellbeing.

• Healthcare professionals should use a stepped approach for managing atopic eczema in children. This means tailoring the treatment step to the severity of the atopic eczema.

• Healthcare professionals should offer children with atopic eczema a choice of unperfumed emollients to use every day for moisturising, washing and bathing. This should be suited to the child’s needs and preferences, and may include a combination of products or one product for all purposes and should be easily available to use at nursery, pre-school or school.

• Healthcare professionals should spend time educating children with atopic eczema and their parents or carers about atopic eczema and its treatment.

• When clinically assessing children with atopic eczema, healthcare professionals should seek to identify potential trigger factors including: irritants, such as soaps and detergents, skin infections, contact allergens, food allergens and inhalant allergens.

Dr Sarah Purdy, Consultant Senior Lecturer in the Academic Unit of Primary Health Care at Bristol University said: ”Eczema can be a devastating condition that affects 1 in 5 children in the UK.  Since 80 per cent of cases presenting to GPs are for mild eczema, this guideline will not only help to reduce unnecessary referrals to hospital services, but will also assist primary care clinicians to deliver evidence based care with a positive, supportive approach that is so vitally important for children with eczema and their families.“

The guideline was produced for NICE by the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children’s Health (NCC-WCH).

The guidance, together with a costing template and costing report, are available here.