Comparative efficacy and safety of abrocitinib, baricitinib and upadacitinib for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: a network meta-analysis

Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors have become promising treatments for atopic dermatitis (AD), however no study directly comparing JAK inhibitors with each other has been reported. We conducted this network meta‐analysis to determine the comparative efficacy and safety of three common oral JAK inhibitors including abrocitinib, baricitinib, and upadacitinib for moderate‐to‐severe AD. We first identified eligible studies from published meta‐analyzes, then we searched PubMed to obtain additional studies published between February and July 2021. Clinical efficacy and safety were evaluated as primary and secondary outcome, respectively. After extracting data and assessing methodological quality, we utilized ADDIS 1.4 software to conduct pair‐wise and network meta‐analyzes. Ten eligible studies were included in the final analysis. Pooled results that abrocitinib, baricitinib, and upadacitinib obtained higher investigator global assessment (IGA), eczema area, and severity index (EASI) response, however abrocitinib and upadacitinib caused more treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) regardless of doses, compared with placebo. Network meta‐analyzes revealed that upadacitinib 30 mg was superior to all regimens and upadacitinib 15 mg was better than remaining regimens except for abrocitinib 200 mg in terms of IGA and EASI response. Moreover, abrocitinib 200 mg was superior to abrocitinib 100 mg, baricitinib 1 mg, 2 mg, and 4 mg for clinical efficacy. However, upadacitinib 30 mg caused more TEAEs. Abrocitinib, baricitinib, and upadacitinib were consistently effective therapies in adult and adolescent patients with AD; however, upadacitinib 30 mg may be the optimal option in short‐term studies. More efforts should be done to reduce the risk of TEAEs caused by upadacitinib 30 mg.