Eczematous dermatitis patients always require moisturizing cream as a background therapy to reduce flares and minimize steroid use. Emollients plus (EP) describes topical formulations with vehicle-type and additional active, non-medicated substances.

The present study conducted an investigation with a topical emollient containing urea 10% and amino-inositols on 20 patients affected by chronic eczematous dermatitis. It evaluated effectiveness in terms of Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) and tolerability of EP, along with comparing NRS (numerical rating scale) itch and NRS-pain, DLQI (Dermatological Life Quality Index) between Day 1 and Day 28 to evaluate the characteristics of EP.

It instructed the subjects to apply the EP twice daily for 4 weeks on the affected skin and use a soft soap while not putting any other topical or systemic product. 

The study observed:

• A high statistically significant difference between the IGA value at T0 and T4 for itch and pain. 
• 89.5% of the patients declared good or better tolerability of EP. 
• Two patients did not complete the study.

This study shows that patients with chronic eczema could often resolve dermatitis with the correct emollient choice without steroids, especially if it is an EP.

Source: Spigariolo CB, Ferrucci SM. Efficacy and tolerability of a repairing moisturizing cream containing amino-inositole and urea 10% in adults with chronic eczematous dermatitis of the hands. Ital J Dermatol Venereol. 2023;158(1):42-8.