Sulfone therapy in the treatment of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Report of three cases.

Dapsone therapy for leukocytoclastic (necrotizing) vasculitis has been little used, except for the variant forms of erythema elevatum diutinum and urticarial vasculitis. We report three patients with the common (palpable purpura) form of the disease, limited to the skin, and successfully treated with moderate doses of dapsone (100-150 mg daily). Although the natural course of leukocytoclastic vasculitis is highly unpredictable, the prompt disappearance of new lesion formation after initiation of treatment and the rapid recurrence of lesions after therapy is discontinued (both often within 4 to 8 days after the critical dose level is reached) reflect drug efficacy. We believe that dapsone deserves wider evaluation as a therapeutic agent for chronic or recurrent cases of the common form of leukocytoclastic vasculitis.