Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disease featuring dry skin, severe itching, inflammation, and impaired quality of life. Moisturizing makes an integral part of treatment for AD, but its potential for the prevention of AD is unclear. 

The present study evaluated whether the early use of emollients in infancy can prevent the later development of AD. It searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and other databases to collect randomized controlled trials on the early use of emollients in infants for a meta-analysis. 

The study included nine articles. It found the OR value for the incidence rate as 0.7 and no significant publication bias. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis confirmed the reliability of the final conclusion. 

The study results found a non-significant difference in AD incidence rate between the experimental and control groups. Further research on the early application of emollients in high-risk infants to prevent AD is needed.

Xu D, Stengel R, Sun P: Effectiveness of Emollients in the Prevention of Atopic Dermatitis in Infants: A Meta-Analysis. Dermatology 2022;238:711-716. doi: 10.1159/000519923