Paolo Daniele Maria Pigatto

Atopic dermatitis (AD) places significant burden not only on quality of life, but is also associated with considerable costs to healthcare systems. Diagnosis of AD may be challenging when it starts in adolescence or adulthood, and is further complicated as its manifestations are different from those generally seen in children. Accordingly, better definition of diagnostic criteria for adult onset AD is needed to avoid misdiagnosis and undertreatment in adult patients. To provide practical ...

BACKGROUND: Dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the alpha subunit of IL-4 was recently approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in adult patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess dupilumab effectiveness and safety in adults with moderate-to-severe AD in a real-life Italian multicentre retrospective cohort.

METHODS: Adult moderate-to-severe AD patients, referring to 39 Italian centers, received dupilumab in the context of a national patient access ...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the socio-economic burden of severe chronic hand eczema in patients refractory to treatment with potent corticosteroids.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the socio-economic burden of severe chronic hand eczema refractory to potent topical corticosteroids, and to establish an algorithm for the estimation of the health-related quality of life EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) utility index from the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) summary score.

METHODS: A ...

In order to establish a consensus recommendation for performing photopatch testing, a photopatch test taskforce group was established under the joint umbrella of the European Society for Contact Dermatitis and the European Society for Photodermatology in 2000. After proposing the most adequate methodology in 2004 and completing a European multicentre photopatch test study in 2011, this taskforce is recommending a list of photoallergens that should form part of a baseline series for ...

BACKGROUND: Sensitization to orthopaedic implant materials is an unpredictable event that might affect implant performance.

OBJECTIVES: In candidates for hip or knee joint prosthesis implantation, to evaluate preoperative assessments for identifying patients with metal sensitivity, to determine the percentage of patients who developed metal sensitivity at 1 year after prosthesis implantation, and to examine the clinical relevance of patch tests and lymphocyte transformation tests ...

Omalizumab is approved for use in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU); however, it is not approved for chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU). The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of omalizumab in treating CSU and CIndU in Italy. This is a multicentre prospective observational real-life study involving patients with severe urticaria capable of undergoing omalizumab therapy. We enrolled 127 patients (59.1% females), ranging in age from 15 to 83 years, 69.3% had CSU ...

A multicenter study was performed in 9 Italian centers by members of the GIRDCA, to evaluate the frequency and source of contact sensitization in a group of 302 hairdressers with dermatitis. Occupational habits and use of preventive measures were specifically investigated both in these 302 hairdressers and in a further group of 240 hairdressers who answered a questionnaire. The results showed the presence of an occupationally relevant sensitization in 60.9% of the 302 hairdressers. This ...

The aim of this study is to identify subsets of T cells differentially represented in the circulation of patients with psoriatic arthritis and to evaluate the possibility that they can recirculate between peripheral blood and the inflamed joints. We analyzed the phenotype and cytokine expression in circulating CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in 69 subjects: 28 with cutaneous psoriasis, 15 patients with psoriatic arthritis, and 26 healthy subjects. In the circulation, the percentage of each subset ...

BACKGROUND: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is defined as spontaneous occurrence of wheals and/or angioedema for ≥6 weeks. Omalizumab is a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody effective in refractory CSU, but its mechanism of action and markers predictive of response remain not completely defined.

OBJECTIVES: To correlate baseline levels of two proposed biomarkers, total IgE (bIgE) and d-dimer (bd-dimer), and clinical parameters to omalizumab response and to relapses after drug ...

BACKGROUND: The evidence on the safety of topical preparations containing botanical extracts is limited.

OBJECTIVES: To assess (i) the use of botanically derived compounds in a large population, (ii) the incidence of cutaneous side-effects, and (iii) the diagnostic usefulness of patch testing.

METHODS: A questionnaire was used in 2661 patients to assess both the prevalence and type of topical botanical preparations used, and the occurrence of adverse skin reactions. Patients declaring ...

Fasting during the month of Ramadan consists of alternate abstinence and re-feeding periods (circadian or intermittent fasting). Nothing is currently known on the impact of this kind of fasting on psoriasis. A sample of 108 moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients (aged 42.84 ± 13.61 years, 62 males, 46 females) volunteered to take part in the study. A significant decrease in the "Psoriasis Area and Severity Index" (PASI) score after the Ramadan fasting (mean difference = -0.89 ± ...

BACKGROUND: Contact dermatitis (CD) is a chronic disease with a significant impact on quality of life (QoL). There have been relatively few reports in the literature on specific QoL outcomes for patients suffering from CD.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a new instrument specifically designed to measure QoL in CD and to investigate which disease features could strongly influence QoL.

METHODS: Three hundred seventy-two patients affected by CD were administered a 20-item questionnaire, which ...

Patch testing is the standard procedure used to diagnose allergic contact dermatitis. It is an in-vivo test, which reproduces the reaction to a contact allergen. This in-vivo test aims to reproduce the elicitation phase of allergic contact dermatitis and is performed applying allergens under occlusion on the skin under standardized conditions. These guidelines for the best practice in performing patch test have been developed by an Italian group of experts taking in account the Italian ...