Clinical audit of National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisal Guidance (TAG) 81 and 82/Clinical Guidelines (CG57) on atopic eczema in children

Objective: To find out how far our current practice complies with the NICE guidelines and to identify any areas in which improvement is needed Patients and methods: The audit sample consists of 50 patients. The inclusion criteria include children from birth up to the age of 12 years and diagnosed with atopic eczema Results: 100% patients (n=50) in this audit were treated with topical corticosteroids. 100% cases (n=50) were treated in accordance with NICE recommendations. The drug with lowest acquisition cost was prescribed in 31 (62%) cases. None of the 50 patients was prescribed either tacrolimus or pimecrolimus. Conclusions: The patients in this audit tended to be young. All patients had either mild to moderate eczema with no cases with severe eczema. All patients responded to treatment regimen comprising topical steroids with none requiring topical calcineurin inhibitors i.e. tacrolimus and pimecrolimus.