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Treatment of Parthenium dermatitis with methotrexate
Author(s) -
Sharma Vinod K.,
Bhat Radhakrishna,
Sethuraman Gomathy,
Manchanda Yashpal
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
contact dermatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0536
pISSN - 0105-1873
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0536.2006.00950.x
Subject(s) - medicine , parthenium , methotrexate , dermatology , prednisolone , contact dermatitis , folliculitis , antimetabolite , allergy , immunology , agronomy , weed , biology
Patients with parthenium dermatitis are often unresponsive to topical steroids, and immunosuppressive agents may be necessary to reduce their need for systemic corticosteroids. We evaluated the efficacy of methotrexate in parthenium dermatitis. Sixteen patients unresponsive to topical treatment were included after baseline investigations, and treated with oral methotrexate (15 mg/week). Clinical response was monitored using a dermatitis area and severity index (DASI). Seven patients completed ≥6 months’ follow‐up, and their mean DASI fell to 5, 2.7 and 2.1 at the end of 1, 3 and 6 months respectively, from a baseline score of 10. Only 3/7 patients required oral prednisolone in the initial 2–4 weeks. Side effects were minor, being mainly folliculitis and furuncles. Methotrexate may hence be a useful alternative for patients with severe parthenium dermatitis.