High Serum Total IgE Predicts Poor Long-term Outcome in Atopic Dermatitis

Most patients with severe atopic dermatitis have elevated serum IgE levels, but there has been little research into IgE as a predictive biomarker in long-term disease outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of IgE and other factors in patients with atopic dermatitis in a university clinic setting. There were 169 eligible patients (14-78 years) with a mean follow-up of 4.15 years. High baseline IgE (>= 10,000 IU/ml) was the most important patient-related factor for a poor longterm outcome, being negatively associated with good treatment response (odds ratio (OR) 0.062, p=0.002). Only 14.3% of patients with this high baseline IgE achieved a good treatment response in follow-up, compared with 79.7% in patients with lower (<1,000 IU/ml) IgE values (p<0.001). Serum total IgE may provide an easily measurable way to predict long-term outcome, and to help to select those patients in need of closer follow-up.