Efficacy and Safety of Alitretinoin for Chronic Hand Eczema in Korean Patients

BACKGROUND Chronic hand eczema (CHE) tends to be refractory to conventional therapy. Previous clinical trials have found that a 24-week treatment course of oral alitretinoin is effective and well tolerated for CHE treatment. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of oral alitretinoin in Korean CHE patients. METHODS A total of 27 patients with moderate to severe CHE took 30 mg of alitretinoin daily for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy parameter was the physician's global assessment (PGA). The response was defined as a patient being "clear" or "almost clear" of disease. The secondary efficacy parameters were the modified total lesion symptom score (mTLSS) and the patients' global assessment (PaGA). All adverse events and laboratory abnormalities were recorded during the treatment period. RESULTS Alitretinoin led to CHE symptom improvement in 44.4% of patients. The PGA, mTLSS, and PaGA scores correlated well with each other. Reported adverse events were typical retinoid class effects and headache was the most common. CONCLUSION Taking 30 mg of oral alitretinoin daily for 12 weeks was found to be effective in treating Korean patients with CHE, compared with the 24 week-treatment shown in previous studies.