Table 1.

Characteristics of the included studies and results

Study ID design and location	Participants: gender/age/eczema status	Intervention and comparator	Outcomes as reported	Conclusions
Gehring [20] Double-blind Single-center Germany	69 (39 female/24 male/6 gender unreported) Eczema Mean age 27 years	1 week A: EUL b.i.d. (31) B: Hydrocortisone acetate 1% in EUL b.i.d. (32) EUL contains 4% urea	Participant-assessed change in roughness (1–10, higher better): group A 2.19 (1.31) vs group B 2.60 (0.98) Investigator-assessed redness (1–4, lower better): group A −0.84 (0.66) vs group B −1.00 (0.52) Investigator-assessed roughness (1–4, lower better): group A −0.97 (0.59) vs group B −1.06 (0.46) Change in TEWL: group A −8.2 g/m2/h vs group B −8 g/m2/h	Six losses to follow-up (8.7%), unclear from which group
Hanifin [21] Investigator-blind Multicenter US Within-participant	80 (51 female/29 male) Mild to moderate eczema Mean age 24.4 years	3 weeks A: desonide 0.05% lotion b.i.d. plus CMC on one side B: desonide 0.05% lotion b.i.d. on contralateral side	Treatment preference: side A 96% vs side B 4% Adverse events: side A 10 vs. side B 11 after 1 week and 0 vs 2 after 3 weeks Marked to excellent improvement: side A 70% vs. side B 55%	Combination of topical active treatment with a moisturiser is more effective than topical active treatment alone
Simpson [22] Investigator-blind Multicenter US Within-participant	127 (gender unreported) Mild to moderate eczema Mean age not reported	4 weeks A: routine use of topical corticosteroids plus CRM on one side B: routine use of topical corticosteroids on contralateral side	Treatment satisfaction: 84%–96.7% felt that addition of moisturiser resulted in better effect Change in EASI: side A −1.28 (1.94) vs. group B −1.01 (1.50) Change in skin capacitance: side A 5.4 vs. side B 3	Combination of topical active treatment with a moisturiser is more effective than topical active treatment alone
Simpson [23] Investigator-blinded Single-center Germany Within-participant	20 (16 female/4 male) Controlled atopic dermatitis and dry skin Mean age 40.9 years	27 days A: CRM b.i.d. on one leg B: no moisturiser on contralateral leg	Adverse events: none on either leg Change on dryness scale (0–4): side A −1.15 (0.41) vs. side B −0.91 (0.58) Change in TEWL: side A −1.59 g/m2/h vs. side B −0.42 g/m2/h (1.13) Change in skin capacitance: side A 16.91 (6.3) vs. side B 3.3 (3.86)	There was a statistically significant difference in favor of CRM for all these outcomes

b.i.d. twice daily, CMC Cetaphil^® moisturising cream, CRM Cetaphil Restoraderm^® moisturizer, EASI Eczema Area Severity Index, EUL Excipial^® U lipo lotion, HR hazard ratio, TEWL transepidermal water loss