According to Mona Shahriari, MD, the psychosocial burden of atopic dermatitis (AD) is accumulating even when the disease presents in its mild form. In her presentation at Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) in Nashville, TN, Shahriari, she spoke about the cumulative emotional burden of the disease over time. In an interview with Patient Care^© during the meeting, she urged primary care clinicians, typically the first health care professionals to see an individual with AD, to have a low threshold for referral to a dermatology colleague. Shahriari pointed out that while AD is common and its most common form is mild, it is essential for a primary care clinician to really follow the condition because 30% to 40% of people with AD will progress to more severe disease. She cautioned against the thinking that may creep in on seeing the mild form in clinical practice: "It's just eczema; you put some steroid cream on it and it's going to get better." She notes there are many effective topical agents in the primary care toolbox to treat AD, but if they are not providing relief, "make the referral to dermatology for advanced therapeutics."

Mona Shahriari, MD is an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT and co-founder of Central Connecticut Dermatology in Cromwell, CT

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