Practical strategies for the diagnosis and assessment of atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) has a significant, lifelong clinical impact on affected individuals and has profound effects on quality of life both for patients and their families. The diagnosis usually can be reliably established on the basis of the history and physical examination. In patients with skin of color, blanching of the skin may be helpful to detect erythema, lichenification, follicular accentuation, and hypopigmentation (all of which are more common than in lighter-skinned patients). Once the diagnosis of AD is established, an assessment of severity, persistence, and impact on the patient's and family's life is important as a guide to treatment decisions.