CLINICAL COURSE OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN CHILDREN WITH TORCH INFECTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Background. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases of childhood. Persistent infections of the TORCH complex have been proposed to influence the immunological mechanisms of AD, but the evidence remains inconsistent. Objective. To compare the clinical course of AD in children with laboratory-confirmed TORCH infection and children without evidence of TORCH infection. Methods. In this single-centre comparative study, 80 children with AD were allocated to two groups: group I (n = 40), children with laboratory-confirmed TORCH infection, and group II (n = 40), children without laboratory evidence of TORCH infection. Age at onset, SCORAD index, annual exacerbation frequency, itch intensity (VAS), total serum IgE, and the presence of secondary bacterial skin infection were assessed. Between-group comparisons used the Student t-test or Mann–Whitney U test for continuous variables and the χ² or Fisher exact test for categorical variables; the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for secondary bacterial infection. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results. Children with TORCH infection had a significantly higher SCORAD index (47.8 ± 11.5 vs 39.6 ± 10.8; p = 0.003), more annual exacerbations (4.3 ± 1.2 vs 3.1 ± 1.0; p < 0.001), higher itch intensity (VAS 7.8 ± 1.3 vs 6.5 ± 1.4; p < 0.001), higher total serum IgE (520 [310–890] vs 330 [180–560] IU/mL; p = 0.006), and more frequent secondary bacterial infection (40.0% vs 17.5%; p = 0.027; OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.12–8.83). The groups were comparable in age, sex, age at onset, and disease duration. Conclusion. Laboratory-confirmed TORCH infection was associated with a more severe course of atopic dermatitis in children. As a cross-sectional study it cannot establish causation, and larger multicentre studies are warranted.