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Water softener trial shows no benefit to children with eczema
Water softener trial shows no benefit to children with
eczema
14 September 2011
The results of the Soft
Water Eczema Trial (SWET) have shown that the severity of
eczema in children is not reduced by providing them with softer
water at home.
SWET was a randomised, observer-blind
trial involving 336 children with moderate or severe atopic
eczema. Participants were randomised
to one of two groups. Those in the first group received usual
eczema care and had an ion-exchange water softener installed in
their home, while those in the second group received usual eczema
care alone.
The primary outcome was
change in eczema severity (according to the six area, six sign
atopic dermatitis [SASSAD] severity score) at 12 weeks, measured by
research nurses who were blinded to treatment allocation. The mean
reduction in SASSAD at 12 weeks was -5.0 (20% improvement) for the
water softener group and -5.7% (22% improvement) for the usual care
group. Despite this the participants, who were not blind to the
intervention, considered that they had benefited from the water
softener.
SWET was funded by the National Institute for
Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme
(NIHR HTA).
The article reporting the results of SWET has
recently been rated in the top 2% of articles selected by the
Faculty of 1000 (F1000) for their library of published articles in
biology and medicine. F1000 is a post-publication peer-review
service which holds a database (updated daily) of over 100,000
evaluations of the top published articles in biology and
medicine. Articles are selected, rated, and evaluated by the
Faculty of over 10,000 expert scientists and clinical researchers
who cover over 3,000 peer-reviewed journals. To find out more
about the Faculty of 1000, visit f1000.com.
F1000 commented about SWET that:
“This study
is interesting because it clearly demonstrated no benefit of using
an ion-exchange water softener in addition to usual care in
children with eczema.”
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