Successful treatment in two cases of steroid-dependent cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa with low-dose methotrexate.

To the best of our knowledge, only 3 cases of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) treated successfully with methotrexate (MTX) have been reported in the medical literature. We report 2 further cases of steroid-dependent cutaneous PAN treated successfully with low-dose weekly MTX therapy. The clinical and biological tolerance of MTX was excellent. The cutaneous lesions started to regress within 3 weeks. One of the patients reported full recovery which lasted 2 years after stopping the therapy. So, MTX seems to be an interesting therapy in the treatment of PAN because of its relatively low toxicity, its simple use, its quick action and prolonged results after MTX has been stopped. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel