AAD Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Patients Guideline Summary - Guideline Central
Summary of Recommendations
Document Overview

Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Patients

American Academy of Dermatology


Publication Date: Apr 7, 2026

Page Last Updated: May 6, 2026

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Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-Based Recommendations

Implications for:Strong Recommendation (S)Conditional Recommendation (C)
PatientsMost individuals in this situation would want the recommended course of action, and only a small proportion would not.The majority of individuals in this situation would want the suggested course of action, but many would not.
CliniciansMost individuals should receive the intervention. Adherence to this recommendation according to the guideline could be used as a quality criterion or performance indicator. Formal decision aids are not likely to be needed to help individuals make decisions consistent with their values and preferences.Recognize that different choices will be appropriate for individual patients and that you must help each patient arrive at a management decision consistent with his or her values and preferences. Decision aids may be useful in helping individuals to make decisions consistent with their values and preferences.
PolicyThe recommendation can be adopted as policy in most situations.Policymaking will require substantial debate and involvement of various stakeholders.
Certainty in the Evidence
HighHLowL
ModerateMVery LowVL

Source: Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group (Schunemann HJ et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006;174:605-14. Guyatt GH et al. BMJ 2008;336:924-6).

Document Overview

Document Title
Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Patients
Authoring Society

American Academy of Dermatology

Document Publication Date
Apr 7, 2026
Page Last Reviewed/Updated
May 6, 2026
Document Type
Guideline
Country of Publication
United States
Full Text Freely Available
Yes
Full Text Guideline
www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(26)00343-9/fulltext
Source Citation
Dawn M.R. Davis, Ali Alikhan, Lionel Bercovitch, David E. Cohen, Jennifer M. Darr, Aaron M. Drucker, Lawrence F. Eichenfield, Lindsy Frazer-Green, Amy S. Paller, Kathryn Schwarzenberger, Jonathan I. Silverberg, Anne Marie Singh, Peggy A. Wu, Robert Sidbury, Guidelines of care for the management of atopic dermatitis in pediatric patients, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2026

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Document Objectives
Pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, chronic inflammatory skin disorder that significantly impacts the quality of life of affected children and their families. Multiple therapies were approved to treat AD in children and adolescents since publication of the AAD's 2014 AD guidelines. 

The objective of this guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations on the use of topical therapies, phototherapy, and systemic therapies for AD in children and adolescents. We make strong recommendations for the use of moisturizers, topical calcineurin inhibitors, topical corticosteroids, crisaborole ointment, roflumilast cream, ruxolitinib cream, tapinarof cream, dupilumab, tralokinumab, lebrikizumab, nemolizumab with concomitant topical therapy, upadacitinib, abrocitinib, and baricitinib in the treatment of pediatric AD. We make conditional recommendations in favor of bathing, bleach baths, wet dressings, phototherapy, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, and cyclosporine. We conditionally recommend against the use of topical antimicrobials, PUVA phototherapy, and strongly recommend against systemic corticosteroids.
Scope
Management, Treatment
Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D003876 - Dermatitis, Atopic

Keywords
Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, atopic eczema, eczema
Inclusion Criteria
Male, Female, Adolescent, Child
Health Care Settings
Ambulatory
Intended Users
Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

PICO Questions
  1. What are the efficacy and safety of topical therapies for the management of AD in children and adolescents?
  2. What are the efficacy and safety of phototherapy or photochemotherapy for the treatment of AD in children and adolescents?
  3. What are the efficacy and safety of systemic therapies for the treatment of AD in children and adolescents?
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