Interventions for hidradenitis suppurativa.

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition characterised by recurrent painful boils in flexural sites, such as the axillae and groin, that affects about 1% of the population, with onset in early adulthood. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions for HS in people of all ages. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the following databases up to 13 August 2015: the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised Register, CENTRAL in the Cochrane Library (Issue 7, 2015), MEDLINE (from 1946), EMBASE (from 1974), and LILACS (from 1982). We also searched five trials registers and handsearched the conference proceedings of eight dermatology meetings. We checked the reference lists of included and excluded studies for further references to relevant trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of all interventions for hidradenitis suppurativa. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed study eligibility and methodological quality and performed data extraction. Our primary outcomes were quality of life, measured by a validated dermatology-specific scale, and adverse effects of the interventions. MAIN RESULTS: Twelve trials, with 615 participants, met our inclusion criteria. The median number of participants in each trial was 27, and median trial duration was 16 weeks. The included studies were conducted over a 32-year time period, from 1983 to 2015. A single RCT that was underpowered to detect clinically meaningful differences investigated most interventions.There were four trials of anti-TNF-α (tumour necrosis factor-alpha) therapies, which included etanercept, infliximab, and adalimumab. Adalimumab 40 mg weekly improved the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score in participants with moderate to severe HS by 4.0 points relative to placebo (95% confidence interval (CI) -6.5 to -1.5 points), an effect size approximately equal to the DLQI minimal clinically important difference. We reduced the evidence quality to 'moderate' because the effect size was based on the results of only one study. In a meta-analysis of two studies with 124 participants, standard dose adalimumab 40 mg every other week was ineffective compared with placebo (moderate quality evidence). In a smaller study of 38 participants, of whom only 33 provided efficacy data, infliximab 5 mg/kg treatment improved DLQI by 8.4 DLQI points after eight weeks. Etanercept 50 mg twice weekly was well tolerated but ineffective.In a RCT of 200 participants, no difference was found in surgical complications (week one: risk ratio (RR) 0.78, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.05, moderate quality evidence) or risk of recurrence (after three months: RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.34, moderate quality evidence) in those randomised to receive a gentamicin-collagen sponge prior to primary closure compared with primary closure alone.RCTs of other interventions, including topical clindamycin 1% solution; oral tetracycline; oral ethinylestradiol 50 mcg with either cyproterone acetate 50 mg or norgestrel 500 mcg; intense pulsed light; neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser; methylene blue gel photodynamic therapy; and staphage lysate, were relatively small studies, preventing firm conclusions due to imprecision. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Many knowledge gaps exist in RCT evidence for HS. Moderate quality evidence exists for adalimumab, which improves DLQI score when 40 mg is given weekly, twice the standard psoriasis dose. However, the 95% confidence interval includes an effect size of only 1.5 DLQI points, which may not be clinically relevant, and the safety profile of weekly dosing has not been fully established. Infliximab also improves quality of life, based on moderate quality evidence.More RCTs are needed in most areas of HS care, particularly oral treatments and the type and timing of surgical procedures. Outcomes should be validated, ideally, including a minimal clinically important difference for HS.

Hidradenitis suppurativa: MRI features in anogenital disease.

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder of apocrine gland-bearing skin, which commonly affects the anogenital region. There has been very little literature to date on the MRI appearances of anogenital hidradenitis suppurativa. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the MRI features of anogenital hidradenitis suppurativa in the largest cohort of patients to be published to date. DESIGN: After an institutional review board waiver, patients with hidradenitis suppurativa who were undergoing MRI for anogenital disease between 2005 and 2012 were identified from our institutional database. The MRI appearances were recorded by 2 radiologists in consensus, blinded to clinical details. Location of disease, number of tracts, presence of anal fistula, and supralevator involvement were recorded. Patient demographics were also noted. SETTINGS: This study was conducted at the Department of Radiology, Guy's and St Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust. PATIENTS: Patients included were those undergoing MRI for anogenital disease in hidradenitis suppurativa between 2005 and 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The distribution of sinus tracts in anogenital hidradenitis suppurativa on MRI was measured. RESULTS: Thirty-one MRIs were performed in 18 patients (15 men; mean age, 46 years). On the baseline MRI, multiple tracts were seen in the natal cleft (16/18; 83%), the perianal (12/18; 61%), the perineal (13/18; 56%), and the gluteal (8/18; 44%) regions. A communication with the anal canal was present in only 4 patients. Three patients had supralevator extension. Seven patients had follow-up MRIs with variable response to interval treatment: 3 of 7 showed responding disease, 3 of 7 showed stable disease, and 1 of 7 showed progressive disease. LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its relatively small cohort of patients. CONCLUSIONS: In hidradenitis suppurativa, anogenital disease is usually subcutaneous but extensive, with only a minority of patients demonstrating deeper involvement. MRI may help define the extent of anogenital disease and assess response to treatment.

Autoantibodies to basement membrane proteins BP180 and BP230 are commonly detected in normal subjects by immunoblotting.

Autoantibodies to basement membrane proteins BP180 and BP230 are characteristic of bullous pemphigoid and other subepidermal immunobullous disorders. These antibodies are, however, reported in other pruritic dermatoses, non-bullous disorders and non-cutaneous disease. Few studies have assessed basement membrane antibodies in normal subjects; antibody prevalence in this population is not clear. This study aims to examine basement membrane zone antibodies in normal middle-aged to elderly subjects. Sera from 61 healthy subjects (majority age 50-70 years) were assessed by immunoblot, indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Ninety-one bullous pemphigoid patients acted as positive controls. Antigenic target, antibody class and titre were examined; sera binding BP180 were assessed for reactivity to the non-collagenous 16A (NC16A) domain. Thirty-six normal subjects (59%) had antibodies to either BP180 or BP230 on immunoblot analysis. BP180 was the commonest target antigen, detected in 35 subjects; binding to the immunodominant NC16A domain was not detected. Immunofluorescence was positive in three subjects. Of the bullous pemphigoid sera, 88% were positive on immunoblot or immunofluorescence; a higher frequency had antibodies against BP230. In conclusion, significant numbers of normal healthy subjects have circulating autoantibodies to basement membrane proteins, chiefly BP180 detectable by immunoblot, but these do not bind the NC16A domain.

γ-Secretase mutations in hidradenitis suppurativa: new insights into disease pathogenesis.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a debilitating chronic inflammatory skin condition of unclear etiology. It may segregate as an autosomal dominant trait, and heterozygous mutations in the γ-secretase genes NCSTN, PSENEN, and PSEN1 have recently been reported in a small number of multiplex kindreds and sporadic cases. These mutations highlight γ-secretase (an enzyme that has been extensively investigated in familial Alzheimer's disease) to have an integral role in cutaneous biology and, more specifically, in HS. In this article, we review the recent genetic data, how they inform disease pathogenesis, and the long-term implications in HS and related diseases.

Raltegravir-induced Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome - implications for clinical practice and patient safety.

This case report describes two severe antiretroviral drug adverse reactions that occurred in the same patient. A 55-year-old HIV-positive African woman received a single epidural triamcinolone injection for pain relief of postherpetic neuralgia. Forty-one days later, she developed severe iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome due to the drug-drug interaction between triamcinolone and her boosted protease inhibitor therapy. The patient's antiretroviral regimen was thus changed to replace her protease inhibitor with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir. Shortly after commencing the drug, the patient developed a severe adverse drug reaction manifesting as Drug Reaction (or Rash) with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. First described in 1996, this hypersensitivity syndrome presents with severe skin reaction as well as fever, rash, lymphadenopathy and internal organ involvement with marked eosinophilia. Clinicians should be aware of raltegravir-induced DRESS syndrome as well as the potential for drug-drug interactions due to protease inhibitor-based therapy.