Guideline Video

Guideline Resources

  • Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Patients
  • American Academy of Dermatology
  • April 7, 2026
  • Summary
  • Full-text

Video Transcription

Just published April 7th, 2026, the American Academy of Dermatology’s newest guideline on Management of Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Patients.

The purpose of this guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations on the use of topical therapies, phototherapy, and systemic therapies for atopic dermatitis, or AD, in children and adolescents.

In today’s rapid update, we’ll just be going over a summary of recommendations so for the full guideline, make sure to check it out on guidelinecentral.com. Let’s get started. 

Starting with the section on Nonprescription Topical Interventions

  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD, the guideline recommends the use of moisturizers.
  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD, the guideline conditionally recommends bathing for treatment and maintenance.
  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD, the guideline conditionally recommends dilute bleach baths under the guidance of a healthcare professional skilled in the management of AD.
  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD,  the guideline conditionally recommends the use of wet dressings under the guidance of a health care professional skilled in the management of AD.

Next the section on Topical Antimicrobials

  • The guideline conditionally recommends against the use of topical antimicrobials for AD without signs of infection in pediatric patients up to the age of 18.

Then the section on Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors

  • For pediatric patients up to the age of 18, the guideline recommends the use of topical calcineurin inhibitors and proactive use of intermittent TCIs as maintenance therapy.

Moving on to the section on Topical Corticosteroids

  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD, the guideline recommends topical corticosteroids and intermittent use of low to medium potency topical corticosteroids as maintenance therapy.

For the section Topical phosphodiesterase-4 Inhibitors

  • For pediatric patients 3 mo and older with mild-to-moderate AD, the guideline recommends the use of crisaborole.
  • For pediatric patients aged 2 y and older with mild-to-moderate AD, the guideline recommends the use of roflumilast cream.

On to the section Topical JAK Inhibitors

  • For pediatric patients aged 2 y and older with mild-to-moderate AD, the guideline recommends ruxolitinib cream.

Now for the section Topical Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Agonists

  • For pediatric patients aged 2 y and older with AD, the guideline recommends tapinarof cream.

For the section on Phototherapy

  • For pediatric patients up to age 18 with AD, the guideline conditionally recommends phototherapy and conditionally recommends against PUVA phototherapy.

On to the section Monoclonal Antibodies 

  • For pediatric patients 6 mo and older with moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline recommends dupilumab.
  • For pediatric patients 12 y and older with moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline recommends tralokinumab, lebrikizumab, and nemolizumab with concomitant topical therapy.

Then the section on JAK inhibitors

  • For pediatric patients 12 y and older with moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline recommends upadacitinib, abrocitinib, and baricitinib.

And last, the section on Immunosuppressants

  • For pediatric patients 12 y and older with moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline recommends baricitinib.
  • For pediatric patients up to 18 y with refractory moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline conditionally recommends mycophenolate mofetil∗ with proper monitoring.
  • For pediatric patients up to 18 y with refractory moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline conditionally recommends limited-term use of azathioprine with proper monitoring and prescreening of thiopurine methyltransferase activity.
  • For pediatric patients up to 18 y with refractory moderate-to-severe AD, the guideline conditionally recommends limited-term use of cyclosporine with proper monitoring.

And there you have it. Make sure to check out the full guideline from the American Academy of Dermatology and other related clinical decision support tools at guidelinecentral.com.

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