Vertebral hyperostosis associated with etretinate therapy

Abstract

Summary A 42–year‐old woman with long‐standing psoriasis developed arthralgias and stiffness after 1 year of etretinate therapy. There was no clinical or radiological evidence of psoriatic arthropathy, but X‐rays demonstrated hyperostosis of the thoraco‐lumbar spine. Her symptoms resolved on discontinuing etretinate therapy.

Premature Epiphyseal Closure Secondary to Single‐course Vitamin a Therapy

“…It has been reported that up to 20% of patients experienced musculoskeletal pain and arthralgias during therapy 9 . Usually mild, the symptoms may disappear even if the treatment is continued 10 and, notably, the more rare, severe symptoms also tend to quickly improve after cessation of treatment 11 . The five previous reported cases of premature epiphyseal closure secondary to vitamin A therapy have all been with long‐term isotretinoin treatment (5–6 years), or with very high doses (up to 3.5 mg/kg per day), and have occurred in various joints (two knees, one elbow, one ankle, and the fifth case was an occurrence in multiple joints) 5 .…”