Comparative Effect of Prosopis cineraria Ointment and Eucerin Softener on Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score changes in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

Background: Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic skin disease resulting in itching, redness, scratching, and thickening of skin. This study aimed to compare effects of Prosopis cineraria ointment and Eucerin on EASI score changes in patients with atopic dermatitis in Yazd. Methods: This study was a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial carried out on 44 patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis. Patients were divided into two (intervention and control) groups of Prosopis cineraria ointment and Eucerin. Participants, researchers, and evaluators of the results were unaware of the cans containing the drug until the study was completed. The study duration was four weeks and patients were studied at baseline and at the end of the first, second and fourth weeks. After history and careful examination, EASI criterion was used to evaluate the severity of atopic dermatitis. Data was analyzed through SPSS 16 using independent t-test, and repeated measure ANOVA.  P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the patients in the intervention and control groups was 22.72 and 21.77 years old, respectively. Examination of the relationship between treatment group and gender showed that there was a significant statistical relationship difference (p=0.003). Regarding thickness, redness, excoriation and lichenification at any of the four time intervals, there was no difference between the intervention and control groups. Regarding itching, none of the four time intervals showed significant difference in two groups, but the second time there was significant difference (p=0.044). In addition, no drug side effects were reported in any of the treatment groups. Conclusion: The effect that Prosopis cineraria has on improving the symptoms of atopic dermatitis can be as high as the Eucerin but the mean EASI score was smaller in the Prosopis cineraria group in all four times of symptom assessment.