A randomised controlled trial of ion-exchange water softeners for the treatment of eczema in children

PLoS Medicine

Volumn 8, Issue 2, 2011, Pages

  Thomas, Kim S ^a   Dean, Tara ^b   O'Leary, Caroline ^c   Sach, Tracey H ^d   Koller, Karin ^a   Frost, Anthony ^e   Williams, Hywel C ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH   (United Kingdom)

^c MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL   (United Kingdom)

^d UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA   (United Kingdom)

^e UK Water Treatment Association   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CALCINEURIN INHIBITOR; CALCIUM CARBONATE; CORTICOSTEROID; ION EXCHANGE WATER SOFTENER; RESIN; UNCLASSIFIED DRUG;

ADOLESCENT; ARTICLE; CHILD; CONTROLLED STUDY; COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS; DISEASE SEVERITY; DRUG USE; ECZEMA; FEMALE; HEALTH CARE COST; HOME CARE; HUMAN; INFANT; INTENTION TO TREAT ANALYSIS; INTERMETHOD COMPARISON; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; OUTCOME ASSESSMENT; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL; SKIN CARE; TREATMENT RESPONSE; WATER HARDNESS; CLINICAL TRIAL; CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL; DIET THERAPY; PRESCHOOL CHILD; SANITATION;

ADOLESCENT; CHILD; CHILD, PRESCHOOL; ECZEMA; FEMALE; HUMANS; INFANT; MALE; WATER SOFTENING;

EID: 79952271919     PISSN: 15491277     EISSN: 15491676     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000395     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. Johansson S, Bieber T, Dahl R, Friedmann P, Lockey R, et al. (2004) Revised nomenclature for allergy for global use: Report of the Nomenclature Review Committee of the World Allergy Organization, October 2003. J Allergy Clin Immunol 113.
2. Schofield J, Grindlay D, Williams HC, (2009) Skin Conditions in the UK: a Health Care Needs Assessment Nottingham Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology Available: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/scs/documents/documentsdivisions/documentsdermatology/hcnaskinconditionsuk2009.pdf.
3. Lewis-Jones S, (2006) Quality of life and childhood atopic dermatitis: the misery of living with childhood eczema. Int J Clin Pract 60: 984-992.
4. Mancini AJ, Kaulback K, Chamlin SL, (2008) The socioeconomic impact of atopic dermatitis in the United States: a systematic review. Pediatr Dermatol 25: 1-6.
5. Emerson R, Williams H, Allen B, (2001) What is the cost of atopic dermatitis in preschool children? Br J Dermatol 143: 514-522.
6. McNally N, Williams H, Phillips D, Smallman-Raynor M, Lewis S, et al. (1998) Atopic eczema and domestic water hardness. Lancet 352: 527-531.
7. Miyake Y, Yokoyama T, Yura A, Iki M, Shimizu T, (2004) Ecological association of water hardness with prevalence of childhood atopic dermatitis in a Japanese urban area. Environ Res 94: 33-37.
8. Arnedo-Pena A, Bellido-Blasco J, Puig-Barbera J, Artero-Civera A, Campos-Cruanes JB, et al. (2007) [Domestic water hardness and prevalence of atopic eczema in Castellon (Spain) school children]. Salud Publica Mex 49: 295-301.
9. van den Oord RA, Sheikh A, (2009) Filaggrin gene defects and risk of developing allergic sensitisation and allergic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 339: b2433.
10. Tanaka A, Takai M, Yoshinari Y, Matsuda H, (2009) Ultrapure soft water reduces growth of Staphylococcus aureus adopted on skins of the barrier-disrupted animal model. Allergy 64: 1458.
11. Williams H, (2005) Atopic Dermatitis. N Eng J Med 2005;352:2314-24. N Eng J Med 352: 2314-2324.
12. Hoare C, Li Wan Po A, Williams H, (2000) Systematic review of treatments for atopic eczema. Health Technology Assessment 4.
13. Thomas K, Sach T, (2008) A multicentre randomized controlled trial of ion-exchange water softeners for the treatment of eczema in children: protocol for the Softened Water Eczema Trial (SWET) (ISRCTN: 71423189). Br J Dermatol 159: 561-566.
14. Thomas K, Koller K, Dean T, Gilbert C, Sach T, et al. multi-centre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of ion-exchange water softeners for the treatment of eczema in children: the Softened Water Eczema Trial (SWET). Health Technology Assessment In press.
15. Wood L, Egger M, Gluud L, Schulz K, Jüni P, et al. (2008) Empirical evidence of bias in treatment effect estimates in controlled trials with different interventions and outcomes: meta-epidemiological study. BMJ 336: 601-605.
16. Williams H, Burney P, Hay R, Archer C, Shipley M, et al. (1994) The UK working party's diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis. I. Derivation of a minimum set of discriminators for atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol 131: 383-396.
17. Berth-Jones J, (1996) Six area, six sign atopic dermatitis (SASSAD) severity score: a simple system for monitoring disease activity in atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol 135: 25-30.
18. British Water Code of Practice for the Installation of Ion Exchange Water Softeners. Available: http://www.britishwater.co.uk/publications/Publications_and_Technical_Guides.aspx.
19. Water Softeners Available: http://www.ukwta.org/watersofteners.php.
20. Meggitt S, Gray J, Reynolds N, (2006) Azathioprine dosed by thiopurine methyltransferase activity for moderate-to-severe atopic eczema: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet 367: 839-846.
21. Takwale A, Tan E, Agarwal S, Barclay G, Ahmed I, et al. (2003) Efficacy and tolerability of borage oil in adults and children with atopic eczema: randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial. BMJ 327: 1358-1359.
22. Charman C, Chambers C, Williams H, (2003) Measuring Atopic Dermatitis Severity in Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials: What Exactly Are We Measuring? J Invest Dermatol 120: 932-941.
23. Benjamin K, Waterston K, Russell M, Schofield O, Diffey B, et al. (2004) The development of an objective method for measuring scratch in children with atopic dermatitis suitable for clinical use. J Am Acad Dermatol 50: 33-40.
24. Bringhurst C, Waterston K, Schofield O, Benjamin K, Rees JL, (2004) Measurement of itch using actigraphy in pediatric and adult populations. J Am Acad Dermatol 51: 893-898.
25. Charman C, Venn A, Williams H, (2004) The Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure: Development and Initial Validation of a New Tool for Measuring Atopic Eczema Severity From the Patients' Perspective. Arch Dermatol 140: 1513-1519.
26. Langan SM, Williams HC, (2006) What causes worsening of eczema? A systematic review. Br J Dermatol 155: 504-514.
27. Lawson V, Lewis-Jones S, Finlay A, Reid P, Owens R, (1998) The family impact of childhood atopic dermatitis: the dermatitis family impact questionnaire. Br J Dermatol 138: 107-113.
28. Hennessy S, Kind P, Measuring health status in children: developing and testing a child-friendly version of EQ-5D. In: Kind P, Macran S, editors. 2002 York Outcomes Research Group, Centre for Health Economics, University of York pp. 291-310.
29. Takwale A, Tan E, Agarwal S, Barclay G, Ahmed I, et al. (2003) Efficacy and tolerability of borage oil in adults and children with atopic eczema: randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group trial. BMJ 327: 1385.
30. 2007 SCST (2007) Stata Statistical Software: Release 10 College Station TX.