Acitretin and etretinate in the treatment of palmoplantar pustulosis: a double-blind comparative trial.

Sixty patients with palmoplantar pustulosis were treated in a double-blind trial with either acitretin (etretin, Ro 10-1670) or with etretinate. The study consisted of 4 weeks of therapy with three 10 mg capsules/day followed by 8 weeks of therapy with a varying number of capsules given daily according to therapeutic response. At the end of the 12-week treatment period, the mean number of pustules (+/- SEM) had decreased from 57.8 (+/- 8.6) to 3.9 (+/- 1.6) in the acitretin group and from 57.1 (+/- 14.1) to 5.7 (+/- 2.7) in the etretinate group. With regard to influence on erythema, infiltration, scaling, and area involved, similar improvements were obtained in both treatment groups. Adverse reactions of the hypervitaminosis A type were observed with almost the same frequency and severity in both treatment groups. The mean number of 10 mg capsules used daily was comparable in the two groups: 2.82 (range 1.23-4.67) for acitretin and 2.77 (range 1.60-4.82) for etretinate. It can be concluded that acitretin and etretinate do not significantly differ with regard to efficacy and overall safety in the treatment of patients with palmoplantar pustulosis.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes