Acitretin: Optimal dosing strategies

Acitretin is an oral synthetic retinoid effective in the treatment of psori asis. As monotherapy!: acitretin has been shown to be most effective in tre ating pustular and erythrodermic types of the disease. Monotherapy with aci tretin for plaque-type psoriasis is often less successful; however, its use in combination with other therapies is highly effective in treating this f orm of the disease, Dose-response studies have established the effective do se range of acitretin as well as the dose-dependence of its side effects. B ecause both efficacy and side effects can vary substantially among individu al patients, proper dosing of acitretin requires a balance between optimizi ng response and minimizing toxicity for each patient. Optimal dosing for in dividual patients may be achieved through a dose-escalation strategy involv ing initiation of therapy at low doses (10 to 25 mg/day) and, if necessary, gradually increasing the dose as tolerated until optimal response is achie ved.