Open AccessSparfloxacin-induced nail pigmentation: A case of fixed drug eruption?
Author(s) -
Husain Yahya
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
annals of african medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.433
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1596-3519
DOI - 10.4103/aam.aam_16_17
Subject(s) - medicine , sparfloxacin , dermatology , nail (fastener) , exacerbation , antibiotics , drug , surgery , pharmacology , microbiology and biotechnology , ofloxacin , materials science , ciprofloxacin , metallurgy , biology
Sparfloxacin, a synthetic, second generation, broad spectrum aminodifluoroquinolone antibiotic, has excellent penetration into respiratory tissues and has good activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and atypical bacteria. Although it is indicated for the treatment of adult community-acquired pneumonia and acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, its use has been limited by phototoxicity which is more common with it than with other quinolones. We report a case of a 20-year-old Nigerian woman who developed a diffuse blue-black nail pigmentation of thumb and big toe nails, 2 weeks after completing therapy with sparfloxacin, and a recurrence of the pigmentation in the same nails 1 year after taking the drug again. We think this is likely a case of subungual fixed drug eruption. We briefly discuss the causes and mechanisms of drug-induced nail pigmentation in general.