Prolonged erythema after facial laser resurfacing or phenol peel secondary to corticosteroid addiction.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged persistent erythema postprocedure using phenol or carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers occurs frequently and the reasons have not been fully ascertained. OBJECTIVE: To describe patients whose postoperative care consisted of prolonged use of topical corticosteroids and to assess the outcome of cessation of this medicine. METHODS: Twelve patients who underwent CO2 laser resurfacing or phenol peels to their face are presented. All patients were seen between 3 and 30 months after the procedures were performed. All dressings, wound care, and other medicaments had been stopped prior to being seen. Most were patch tested to a wide variety of chemicals including corticosteroids, topical medications, and preservatives. They were observed during the poststeroid cessation period and the clinical response is described. RESULTS: All patch testing showed insignificant results. All postpeel patients cleared within 6 months of steroid cessation, experiencing several flares of erythema before the end result. Three of the six laser resurfacing patients cleared fully within 12 months and three are still being followed. The erythema and severe burning in the patients that cleared stayed clear during long-term follow-up. No scars or atrophy were seen. CONCLUSION: The use of topical corticosteroid preparations postoperatively in peel and resurfacing patients is believed to be a major cause of prolonged erythema, dermatitis, burning, and telangiectasias in these patients. The mechanism is believed to be one of vasoconstriction/vasodilatation secondary to the corticosteroids through a nonintact barrier.

Eyelid dermatitis to red face syndrome to cure: clinical experience in 100 cases.

A retrospective review of all eyelid dermatitis patients seen over an 18-year period revealed a large subgroup of patients who had, as the basis for their ongoing problem, an addiction to the use of topical or systemic corticosteroids. This group of 100 patients often sought many consultations with various physicians. Unrelenting eyelid or facial dermatitis often resulted in the use of increasing amounts of corticosteroids for longer periods of time. Soon the skin became addicted. Once the work-up ruled out other causes, the remedy for the problem was absolute total cessation of corticosteroid usage. This article describes the typical history of the problem, the evaluation of these patients, and the distinctive pattern of flaring erythema that ensued when the corticosteroids were ceased. We stress the absolute necessity of total cessation of corticosteroid use as the only treatment for corticosteroid addiction. We also demonstrate that no additional therapy or further consultations were necessary once remission was obtained after topical corticosteroid abuse was halted.