Dapsone may aid treatment of moderate, severe hidradenitis suppurativa

In patients with varying severity of hidradenitis suppurativa, dapsone, in combination with other therapies, was an effective method of treatment, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting.

Arjun M. Bashyam, BA, and colleagues sought to determine the efficacy of dapsone on patients with moderate to severe HS.

“Management of hidradenitis suppurativa is challenging since no single treatment provides consistently effective results, leaving patients with frequent relapses,” Bashyam, of the department of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote. “Few studies have evaluated the efficacy of oral dapsone on HS, especially in severe disease.”

The researchers conducted a retrospective chart review involving 19 patients (mean age, 42.7 years; 47.4% white; 68.4% women) with HS who were treated during a 10-year period. The median dose of dapsone was 50 mg with a mean treatment duration of 8.3 months.

Through follow-up visits, disease status was ranked as clinically significant improvement, slight improvement, no change and deterioration.

Three patients were identified as having a clinically significant improvement in symptoms while 10 patients saw a slight improvement. Six patients had no change in their disease status.

The researchers wrote most patients who saw improvements were on additional medications, most commonly adalimumab.

“Further studies are required to clarify the effect of dapsone used as a monotherapy to evaluate which treatment options work best in combination with dapsone and to assess the possibility of disease recurrence in patients with moderate to severe disease who initially respond to dapsone therapy,” Bashyam and colleagues wrote.