Topical corticosteroids reduce the density of Staphylococcus aureus in hand eczema.

Hand eczema (HE) is a prevalent inflammatory skin disease(1). Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is cultured from >50% of all HE cases, and its presence has been associated with disease severity(2-5), although the causal relationship remains unresolved. Topical corticosteroids (TCS) serve as the first-line medical treatment of HE (6).