Corticosteroid Phobia Among Pharmacists Regarding Atopic Dermatitis in Children: A National French Survey

Abstract

Fear of corticosteroid use among patients and parents of children with atopic dermatitis (AD) may be increased by professional caregiver’s mistrust to corticosteroids and a lack of consistency in information provision. This study used a French national survey to assess mistrust among pharmacists of the use of topical steroids for treatment of AD in children. From all pharmacies in France, a random sample of 500 (approximately 2%) was selected to receive a postal survey comprising a standardized questionnaire of 50 items exploring trust, knowledge, beliefs and practices related to the use of topical steroids for children with AD. The main outcome was self-assessment of pharmacists’ confidence in topical steroids on a 0–10 visual analogue scale. The mean confidence was 4.46 (95% confidence interval 4.11–4.82). This study highlights that pharmacists have only moderate confidence in topical steroids. This lack of trust may have a high impact on maintaining fear of corticosteroids in parents and patients.