Instant barrier repair: A pilot study investigating occlusion with a new hydrogel patch for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

The ideal repair mechanism for overcoming barrier disruption in atopic dermatitis (AD) needs to completely eliminate microbe and allergen penetration as well as transepidermal water loss. We propose the hydrogel patch as an innovative approach to complete barrier repair. It is composed of an adhesive, thin, flexible, hydrogel layer on an impermeable urethane surface. We conducted a 6-week pilot study with 15 AD patients, who applied the hydrogel patch over one lesion for 6-8 h daily and triamcinolone (TAC) 0.1% cream twice daily to another lesion. Results after 2-week no treatment follow-up showed hydrogel patch had notable efficacy, and comparable to TAC 0.1% cream. Larger studies are needed to validate these results.