Successful treatment of subcorneal pustular dermatosis (Sneddon-Wilkinson disease) by acitretin: Report of a case

We report a case of subcorneal pustular dermatosis (SPD) first treated with dapsone with poor response. Dapsone was changed to acitretin, which dramat ically improved the lesions in a few days. Dapsone is the first-line treatm ent in SPD, but it may be ineffective in some cases and its toxicity is imp ortant. Therapeutic alternatives are limited and less effective (systemic c orticosteroids, phototherapy). Our observation underlines the usefulness of retinoids, when dapsone is ineffective or poorly tolerated, Their effectiv eness is comparable, but they are effective more rapidly and are better tol erated. A dose maintenance is necessary to avoid relapses. Their action in SPD remains unclear but may be due to the inhibition of neutrophil function s.