스마트폰을 이용한 교육 자료가 소아 아토피피부염 치료에 미치는 영향
Effects of smartphone-based education materials on the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children
Abstract
Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease that affects up to 20% in children. Education is important to improve caregiver’s understanding about disease nature and the management of AD. We aimed to investigate the effect of smartphone-based education materials on the treatment of pediatric AD. Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of AD patients with the age of 12-60 months who visited the outpatient clinic of Samsung Medical Center at least twice from May 2016 to April 2017. Patients initially having mild severity of AD (SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis [SCORAD] 15) or no visit within 3 months from the first evaluation were excluded. The smartphone-based education materials we developed for AD management were sent to each caregiver’s smartphone at the first visit. AD patients were classified into children who received smartphone-based education materials (group A, n=188) and those who did not (group B, n=128). SCORAD scores were evaluated both at the first and second visit, and percent reduction of SCORAD from baseline were compared between 2 groups. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to analyze effect of smartphone-based education materials on the AD severity. Results: The age, gender, allergen sensitization and skin barrier function were not different in both groups. SCORAD score was lower at the second visit than at the initial visit in both groups (all P0.001). However, percent reduction of SCORAD score was significantly higher in group A than in group B (41.9% vs. 31.9%, P=0.046). Conclusion: Our results suggest that smartphone-based education materials are useful for the treatment of pediatric AD in clinical practice.