In an earlier epidemiological study, the incidence of atopic dermatitis (AD) was 12.94% in children aged 1-7 years by clinical diagnosis.An analysis was designed to suggest new diagnostic criteria for children and evaluate its effectiveness in different population groups.

A total new set of diagnostic criteria for 1031 children in China was proposed and validated in outpatient clinics and 538 children in a birth cohort assessment. Atopic features and their correlation with AD using data from a previous study was screened.

Clinical diagnosis and atopic feature evaluation were done personally by dermatologists specialized in AD. For the diagnostic efficiency, only three criteria were compared using the clinical diagnosis as the reference.

The new diagnostic criteria for children were created on typical morphology and its spread, pruritus, or atypical morphology with xerosis and chronically relapsing progression. As compared to the classical diagnostic criteria, the sensitivity of this new diagnostic criteria was considerably high in the epidemiological analysis and the clinical setting, particularly among mild and moderate AD. Also, in the birth cohort analysis, the new criteria presented similar sensitivity and specificity.

The analysis concluded that the new criteria for children generated higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of AD in the epidemiological assessment and clinical setting, predominantly for mild and moderate AD. In the birth cohort analysis with a complete medical history, three criteria revealed similar sensitivity and specificity.

Source: Cheng R, Zhang H, Zong W, et al. Development and validation of new diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis in children of China. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2020 Mar; 34(3):542-548