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Cutaneous pH in children affected by atopic dermatitis and in healthy children: a multicenter study

1999; Wiley; Volume: 5; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1600-0846.1999.tb00134.x

1600-0846

Adele Sparavigna, Michele Setaro, V. Gualandri,

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Research

Background/aims: Several studies have been conducted in order to assess, objectively and non‐invasively, atopic skin parameters. Since little is known about clinically uninvolved, perilesional and lesional skin pH in atopic children at different stages of the disease, we studied cutaneous pH in atopic and healthy children and investigated possible relationships among different sites, phases of the disease and main symptoms. Methods: Two hundred and eighty‐four children of both sexes, 143 atopic and 141 healthy children, aged 3 months to 11 years, examined in 10 different Italian dermatological centres were included in the study and subjected to clinical examinations and pH measurements. Results: Atopic children presented statistically significant higher pH values than controls, not only at the level of eczematous lesions (P=0.004) and of perilesional skin (P=0.003) but also at the level of apparently healthy skin (P=0.002). A progressive statistically significant increase in pH values was observed from healthy to perilesional to lesional skin. In acute dermatitis, children affected by moderate itching (considering itching complaints and scratching lesions) presented, at the level of lesional and perilesional skin, statistically significant higher pH values than children affected by mild itching. Conclusion: The correlation found in this study between severity of itch and skin surface alkalinity, far from demonstrating a therapeutic role of acidic substances against itching in atopic children, deserves new epidemiological studies on a large scale in order to identify new strategies of treatment of atopic skin.