# Atopic dermatitis

This review summarizes the established clinical framework for atopic dermatitis (AD) diagnosis alongside emerging tools intended to complement it—circulating and skin-derived biomarkers, minimally invasive tape stripping, the skin microbiome, instrumental barrier assessment, noninvasive biofluids, advanced optical imaging (reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography and line-field confocal OCT), and artificial-intelligence and digital tools, with attention to special populations—concluding that clinical diagnosis remains the reference standard, that the experienced clinician still outperforms any single test, and that these tools are promising adjuncts though few are standardized or prospectively validated.

This review summarizes the established clinical framework for atopic dermatitis (AD) diagnosis alongside emerging tools intended to complement it—circulating and skin-derived biomarkers, minimally invasive tape stripping, the skin microbiome, instrumental barrier assessment, noninvasive biofluids, advanced optical imaging (reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography and line-field confocal OCT), and artificial-intelligence and digital tools, with attention to special populations—concluding that clinical diagnosis remains the reference standard, that the experienced clinician still outperforms any single test, and that these tools are promising adjuncts though few are standardized or prospectively validated.