Necrolytic acral erythema: response to combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Vol. 50; no. 5; pp. 121 - 124
• Main Authors: Hivnor, Chad M, Yan, Albert C, Junkins-Hopkins, Jacqueline M, Honig, Paul J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.05.2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acrodermatitis - drug therapy; Acrodermatitis - etiology; Acrodermatitis - pathology; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Dermatology; Drug Therapy, Combination; Erythema - drug therapy; Erythema - etiology; Erythema - pathology; Female; Hepatitis C, Chronic - complications; Humans; Interferon-alpha - therapeutic use; Medical sciences; Necrosis; Parenteral Nutrition; Recombinant Proteins; Ribavirin - therapeutic use; Skin - pathology; Skin involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous. General aspects; Human; Skin disease; Drug combination; Dermatology; Hepatic disease; Infant; Ribavirin; Infection; Case study; Viral disease; Digestive diseases; End; Interferon; Combined treatment; Erythema; Viral hepatitis C
• ISSN: 0190-9622; 1097-6787
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2003.09.017

Necrolytic acral erythema is a papulosquamous and sometimes vesiculobullous eruption bearing clinical and histologic similarity to other necrolytic erythemas such as necrolytic migratory erythema, pseudoglucagonoma, and nutritional deficiency syndromes. Necrolytic acral erythema is distinguished by its association with hepatitis C infection and its predominantly acral distribution. We describe a pediatric patient with necrolytic acral erythema whose eruption resolved with hyperalimentation and combination interferon and ribavirin therapy, despite the persistence of detectable viral load and continued hepatic and renal insufficiency.