Lichenoid dermatitis--treatment with pulsed dye laser: a case study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Both the diagnosis and the treatment of lichenoid dermatosis are often difficult and can be time-consuming. There are now more and more publications about the use of laser systems--especially the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser--in the treatment of inflammatory dermatoses, although the laser's exact mechanism of action in these cases is not yet clear. STUDY DESIGN/PATIENTS AND METHODS We report on a female patient with lichenoid dermatitis that was presumably drug-induced (roxatidine, H(2) receptor antagonists). After a 10-month treatment with local corticosteroids, without significant clearance the drug was discontinued and the pulsed dye laser was used (wavelength 585 nm, pulse duration 450 microseconds). RESULTS Six laser treatments resulted in complete clearance of the lesions. No recurrence occurred during the follow-up period of 54 months. Scars were not observed. A post-operative biopsy showed no evidence of lichenoid dermatitis. CONCLUSIONS The pulsed dye laser seems to accelerate the clearance of presumably drug induced corticosteroid-resistant lichenoid dermatoses. No permanent pigmental changes or scarring were observed.