Five Cases of Cutaneous Polyarteritis Nodosa Treated with Dapsone / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a benign form of vasculitis of small and medium-sized arteries with chronic benign course without systemic involvement. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment for cutaneous PAN but aspirin and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are also used for conservative treatment. We treated five patients with cutaneous PAN using oral dapsone. All patients initially showed good response to dapsone, but exacerbation occurred once the dose of dapsone was tapered or stopped. Patients had mild side effects of dapsone which were hemolytic anemia (4 cases) and abnormal liver function (2 cases). No patient has developed major organ system involvement during 1 to 13 years of follow-up. Instead of using oral Corticosteroid, oral dapsone may be an effective and relatively safe alternative therapy for chronic benign cutaneous PAN.