The Gap Between Prescribing and Control

For many patients, a topical corticosteroid does what it should during a flare. The harder question is what happens in the weeks that follow, when the clinician isn’t there to see it. Drawing on a survey of 1,500 adults and caregivers of children with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or seborrheic dermatitis, Tina Bhutani, MD, looks at how often symptoms return despite prescribed treatment, and at the anxiety that persists, for many, even when the disease is under control. Her interest is the distance between treating a flare and sustaining control, and what clinicians might learn by asking about the time between appointments.