Successful Treatment of Severe Subcorneal Pustular Dermatosis with Adalimumab

Abstract

Subcorneal pustular dermatosis (SPD) is a rare, chronic pustular dermatosis. The pathogenesis of SPD has not been fully elucidated, but some studies have found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α may be associated with its pathogenesis. Some patients with multidrug-resistant SPD have improved significantly after treatment with the anti-TNF-α agent (adalimumab). We present a case of a 28-year-old female with severe SPD who responded rapidly to adalimumab (80mg/week) in combination with acitretin and methylprednisolone within a week. With adalimumab (40 mg next week and followed by 40mg every two weeks) and gradually ceasing other systemic medication, the patient's condition continued to improve without relapse or side effects. The outcome of this case suggests that adalimumab might be an effective treatment option against multidrug-resistant SPD.

Subcorneal pustular dermatosis (Sneddon-Wilkinson disease): a case report

“…Acitretinmaybeasecond-line drug. The literature describes isolated cases of successful use of drugs such as colchicine, cyclosporine, in liximab, etanercept, tumor necrosis factor alpha blockers, maxacalcitol, mizoribine, ketoconazole, tetracycline, minocycline, benzylpenicillin, vitamin E, azithromycin [11], doxycycline [8,12], adalimumab [13]. The ef icacy of systemic and topical glucocorticosteroids in elderly patients has also been reported [14,15].…”