Health care resource utilization and costs of commercially insured US patients with atopic dermatitis switching from first-line to second-line systemic targeted therapies

We found a small proportion (5.8%) of patients switched from first- to second-line systemic targeted therapy after a median follow-up of approximately one year. Patients who switched therapies incurred significantly higher AD-related outpatient service use and total health care costs compared with nonswitchers, which may potentially reflect either worsening disease severity or inadequate response or intolerability to first-line therapy. These findings emphasize the increased importance of personalized considerations for the selection of first-line systemic targeted therapy for patients with moderate to severe AD to reduce downstream economic burden. As additional therapies become available, future research exploring reasons for treatment switching and patient factors influencing response will be critical to guide clinical and formulary decision-making in this evolving treatment landscape.