Adverse events of Dupilumab in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: A meta-analysis

Background: Dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against interleukin-4 receptor alpha, inhibits the signals of interleukin-4 and interleukin-13, and has also shown significant efficacy in patients with moderate-to severe atopic dermatitis (AD), while the effect of it on adverse events remains controversial. Objective: To assess the influence of dupilumab on adverse events in adults with moderate-to-severe AD. Method Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared dupilumab with a placebo for patients with moderate-to-severe AD were searched in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases. The outcome of the study was the incidence of adverse events during the observation period. Results: Eight RCTs were analysed in this study. Meta-analysis showed that patients treated with dupilumab had a lower risk of skin infection (risk ratio [RR] 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.69) and exacerbation of AD (RR 0.44, 95% CI 0.34-0.59), but had a higher risk of injection-site reaction (RR 2.24, 95% CI 1.68-2.99), headache (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.05-2.06), and conjunctivitis (RR 2.64, 95% CI 1.79-3.89) than did patients treated with a placebo. Nasopharyngitis, urinary tract infection, upper respiratory tract infection, and herpes virus infection were found balanced in dupilumab groups and placebo groups. Conclusion: Dupilumab moderately reduced the risk of skin infection and the exacerbation of AD, slightly increased the risk of headache, and moderately increased the risk of injection-site reaction and conjunctivitis, but had little effect on other infections in adults with moderate-to-severe AD.