Pimecrolimus 1% cream for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Seborrheic dermatitis is a common, chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disorder that manifests as erythema, scaling and pruritus in sebum gland-rich areas of the skin. The objective of this article is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of pimecrolimus 1% cream in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis compared with corticosteroids, antimycotics, placebo or no intervention. Pimecrolimus 1% cream appears to be a well-tolerated and effective treatment for seborrheic dermatitis. It has comparable efficacy, in terms of decreasing severity of erythema, scaling and pruritus, to the standard treatments: topical corticosteroids and antimycotics. However, future studies with more standardized measures of treatment outcome are recommended. More studies may also be conducted to further evaluate pimecrolimus 1% cream as a long-term maintenance therapy for seborrheic dermatitis.

Keywords::

• calcineurin inhibitor
• pimecrolimus
• randomized controlled trials
• seborrheic dermatitis
• systematic review
• treatment

Disclaimer

None of the authors has any financial ties or interest in Elidel^® (pimecrolimus) cream. This review was made on the sole interest of attaining the objective of evaluating the efficacy of pimecrolimus in seborrheic dermatitis.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.