Efficacy of Hydrocortisone Alone and its Combination Therapy with Rainwater for the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease in children, a chronic, pruritic inflammatory skin disease that usually starts in early infancy. But also affects many adults. It follows a relapsing course, that adversely affects the quality of life of patients and their families. This study was carried out to evaluate and compare the efficacy of hydrocortisone alone and its combination therapy with rainwater for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. This prospective, comparable study was carried out in the dermatological department of Baqubah teaching hospital, outpatient clinic. A total of 120 patients of (1-12 years) old attending outpatient clinic and diagnosed by dermatological specialist as cases of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis from October 2016 to January 2107 were selected and randomized into two groups of 60 patients of each group, Group -A treated with combination therapy of hydrocortisone with rainwater and Group-B  treated with hydrocortisone alone for 8 weeks. Patients were assessed for severity according to the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index. Subsequent examination at weekly interval was used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment for 8 weeks. A p-value lower than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 117 patients were completed the study period of 8 weeks (group –A,59 and Group-B,58). A statistically significant difference was observed in the family history of atopic dermatitis among both groups. Significant response was observed at the end of 8 weeks of treatment, in Group-A (96.61%), while in Group-B (87.93%), according to the clinical assessment grades of atopic dermatitis , and during  the follow up, a statistically significant decrease in SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) in comparison of the two groups. Group –A was found to respond significantly better in term of mean percentage decrease in SCORAD as compared with Group-B during the whole study period (P value