Effect of S. Aureus Skin Decolonization on Disease Severity in Atopic Dermatitis Patients

March 8, 2026 updated by: Wanda Phipatanakul, Boston Children's Hospital
Our hypothesis is that S. aureus skin decolonization in atopic dermatitis reduces disease severity and favorably alters the function and gene expression of epidermal and immune skin cells that contribute to disease severity.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Patients will sign an informed consent and assent to participate. Skin and both nares will be cultured for S aureus. A blood sample and two 2 mm skin biopsies will be obtained one from non-lesional skin and another one from lesional skin). The patients will be instructed in the use of the three-week S. aureus decolonization regimen and provided with the medications (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and Mupirocin ointment) and Chlorhexidine. The second visit will take place immediately at the end of the three-week S. aureus skin decolonization regimen. Disease severity will be assessed, the skin and nares will be re-cultured, and skin biopsies and blood will be obtained.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Boston Children's Hospital
        • Contact:
          • Principal Investigator, MD, MS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Male or female participants ≥6 yrs of age
  2. Meet atopic dermatitis Standard Diagnostic Criteria
  3. SCORAD > 40.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. . Enrollment in another clinical trial
  2. Hypersensitivity to an agent used for the skin decolonization protocol
  3. Use within 4 weeks of systemic treatment with immunosuppressive/immunomodulating drugs (corticosteroids, cyclosporine, mycophenolate, azathioprine, methotrexate)
  4. Phototherapy for AD within 4 weeks
  5. Treatment with biologics (dupilumab, omalizumab, benralizumab, etc) within sixteen weeks
  6. Use of topical steroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors within 7 days
  7. Bleach baths within 7 days of the first Visit
  8. Use of oral or topical antibiotics within 21 days of the beginning of the study
  9. Asthmatics receiving more than 500 μg per day of inhaled corticosteroids
  10. History of (HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, tuberculosis malignancy
  11. Skin comorbidities that may interfere with assessments: psoriasis, cutaneous T Cell lymphoma,,
  12. Severe ongoing medical illnesses e.g. cardiovascular, renal disease, autoimmune disease.
  13. Febrile illness at time of visits
  14. Suspected immune deficiency or family history of primary immunodeficiency
  15. Pregnancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Skin Cleansing Regimen
  1. Mupirocin 2% nasal ointment to the anterior nares to be applied twice daily
  2. Chlorhexidine 4% topical soap (Hibiclens) to be used every other day in the shower or bath from the neck down and then completely rinsed.
  3. Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim): one double strength (DS) tablet (800 mg/160 mg) twice per day for adolescents and adults
Drug: Skin Cleanser Combination No.1
  1. Mupirocin 2% nasal ointment to the anterior nares to be applied twice daily
  2. Chlorhexidine 4% topical soap (Hibiclens) to be used every other day in the shower or bath from the neck down and then completely rinsed.
  3. Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim): one double strength (DS) tablet (800 mg/160 mg) twice per day for adolescents and adults. Dosing for pediatric patients will be calculated to 5 to 6 mg/kg trimethoprim also given twice daily.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis Index
Time Frame: 3 weeks
severity index
3 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Boston Children's Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2031

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2035

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2039

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 30, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 30, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 3, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB-P00047752

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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