Chronic Hand Eczema: November 2024 Supplement Recap

The November Chronic Hand Eczema supplement of Dermatology Times includes a collection of thought-provoking articles and topics ranging from the psychosocial and socioeconomic burdens of CHE to the results of LEO Pharma’s multinational CHECK study. Be sure to read the highlights from the supplement below. Also, don’t miss a moment of Dermatology Times by signing up for our eNewsletters and subscribing to receive the free print issue and supplement each month.

Test Your Knowledge of Chronic Hand Eczema

Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE) is a heterogeneous, long-lasting inflammatory skin disease with varying clinical presentations, complicating diagnosis and management. The condition can significantly impact quality of life, with visible symptoms leading to psychosocial and socioeconomic burdens. Use the quiz below to test your knowledge on a few pearls of the condition.

Many cases of hand eczema are multi-factorial, such as this case in which both irritant contact dermatitis from frequent hand washing and allergic contact dermatitis to gloves were contributing to the dermatitis. While it would have been reasonable to pursue patch testing at the first visit, many patients prefer an attempt at empiric therapy before going through the inconvenience of a patch test.

High potency topical steroids can affect barrier function of the skin even when there is no visible atrophy, which can exacerbate susceptibility to irritants and allergens. Thus, when high potency topical steroids are not adequately effective, switching to an agent that does not impair barrier function, such as a topical JAK inhibitor, can be very helpful.

Continue Reading from Matthew Zirwas, MD

CHECK Prevalence, Severity, and Treatment Data for Chronic Hand Eczema

LEO Pharma presented new data on the prevalence, severity, and treatment of chronic hand eczema at the 16th Congress of the European Society of Contact Dermatitis in Dresden, Germany, in September 2024. Four posters related to the multinational CHECK study were presented. Additionally, 1 poster and 3 encore posters were presented related to the RWEAL study involving physician-reported outcomes.

CHECK involved more than 60,000 adult participants from Canada and several European nations, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The subsequent RWEAL study validated CHECK’s findings, with nearly 300 physicians (n = 292) and a medical chart review of almost 2000 (n = 1939) patients, all from the same nations described in CHECK.

Among the posters related to CHECK, researchers said 5.6% of study participants reported chronic hand eczema within the past year, and 4.7% reported a physician diagnosis within the same time frame.

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Navigating Complexities and Unmet Needs of Chronic Hand Eczema

“Chronic hand eczema is defined as hand eczema that occurs for more than 3 months in a year, or relapses twice or more in a given year. Another way to think about chronic hand eczema is that it is a heterogeneous, long-lasting, fluctuating inflammatory skin disease of the hands,” said Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD, in a recent interview with Dermatology Times.

Bunick, associate professor of dermatology and translational biomedicine at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and Dermatology Times’ 2024 Winter Editor in Chief discussed chronic hand eczema’s (CHE) significant impact on quality of life in patients, the key differences between CHE and atopic dermatitis on the hand, and the lack of FDA-approved treatments in the US.

As the US market awaits the approval of delgocitinib (LEO Pharma) for moderate to severe CHE, the European Commission granted marketing authorization for the topical treatment in the European Union and select European countries. Delgocitinib is a topical pan-JAK inhibitor that inhibits the activation of JAK-STAT signaling.

Continue Reading from Christopher G. Bunick, MD, PhD

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