Thomas L. Diepgen, Egon Pfarr, Thomas Zimmermann
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-1256

This non-interventional observational open study (TOCCATA, sponsored by Basilea Pharmaceutica Germany) investigated the use of alitretinoin to treat chronic hand eczema under daily “real life” medical practice conditions in Germany. A total of 349 dermatologists through­out Germany enrolled 680 adult patients with chronic hand eczema. Patients were prescribed and treated with alitretinoin in accordance with the summary of product characteristics. The maximum observation duration was 24 weeks, with efficacy and safety parameters evaluated every 4 weeks. Efficacy was primarily evaluated by assessing disease severity according to the Physician Global Assessment. In total, 56.7% of patients achieved a Physician Global Assessment rating of “clear” or “almost clear” hands, with only small differences in patients with different morphological forms: hyperkeratotic-rhagadiform (59.2%), fingertip (52.2%) and vesicular (47.9%). This observational study demonstrates the effectiveness and tolerability of alitretinoin in everyday clinical practice in addition to the known efficacy and safety obtain­ed by randomized controlled clinical trials.

Theme Issue: From Acne to Retinoids and Lymphomas