Methods: From 1997 to 2009, 26 pairs of siblings with AD were treated at a clinic, where AD is managed without the use of steroids, and were divided into “users” and “nonusers” groups based on previous steroid usage at a young age. Both groups were treated with antihistamines and Chinese herbal medicines. Because patients were paired with their siblings, we assumed that genetic and environmental conditions were similar for both. Time to cure was the primary outcome measure, defined as the absence of atopic relapse and a score of 0 on the Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index for more than half a year.
Results: “User” group were all elder siblings and revealed a high risk of infection. While “nonuser” group were all younger siblings. The observation period was 39.6 months (SD = 25.2 months) in “user” group, and 11.3 months (SD = 8.7 months) in “nonuser” group. A history of steroid medication increased the relative risk of incidence of staphylococcal infection (OR = 1.67, 95 percent CI: 1.06, 2.62).
Conclusions: The steroid medication increased the incidence of the infection thereafter.