[Short-term discharge as a diagnostic and therapeutic possibility in psychosomatically oriented treatment of the atopic eczema patient].

70 patients suffering from atopic dermatitis and receiving in-patient care were discharged for one or two days upon achieving an improved and stable dermatological state. Back in hospital after their short-term demission, two thirds of these patients showed a deterioration of their cutaneous condition. The majority of them were able to perceive a connection between their worsened skin condition and the acute psychosocial constellation during their brief stay at home. A second short-term demission brought about more acceptable and steady skin conditions, especially in patients treated psychosomatically. Some of the patients declared definite changes in their own modes of behavior to be responsible for this stabilized improvement.