[Baboon syndrome due to a polysensitization with corticosteroids]. / Syndrome babouin associé à une polysensibilisation aux corticoïdes.

BACKGROUND: The Baboon syndrome is a form of systemic contact dermatitis. We report the case of a patient who presented a Baboon syndrom following oral medication with betamethasone. CASE REPORT: A 58 year-old man had consulted for eczema involving the groin, the buttocks and the axillae. It was clinically a baboon syndrome related to oral betamethasone (Celestene) treatment, ingested 48 hours earlier. The exploration with a patch-test confirmed the sensitization to betamethasone. This exploration also showed a sensitization to all four classes of corticosteroids. Prolonged withdrawal of all corticosteroids led to the clear improvement of his eczema. DISCUSSION: The baboon syndrome of this patient was the symptom of a systemic eczema due to betamethasone. The patient was sensitized by the percutaneous route. The application of many topical corticosteroids had provoked this polysensitization. It was impossible to consider a safe corticosteroid for this patient.