[Hidradenitis suppurativa. Response to treatment with infliximab]

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory disease that runs in outbreaks with painful lesions, fistulas and scars in axillae, groins, buttocks, and perianal and submammary regions. Among multiple drug therapies available, infliximab, usually employed in dermatology to control psoriasis, has shown its efficacy in the past five years.

It is a prospective, observational study to determine the efficacy and safety of infliximab in the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa. We selected three women with a history of hidradenitis suppurativa of more than 10 years, with involvement of at least two anatomic locations that was recalcitrant to conventional therapies. Each patient received infliximab at a dose of 5mg/kg/infusion on weeks 0, 2, 6 and every 8 weeks thereafter.

Two of the three patients showed mild to moderate improvement of their disease while the third patient did not improve. We can highlight the variability of the results observed in these three patients. Adverse effects were generally mild and well tolerated by the three patients. Despite this, two patients withdrew the therapy due to loss of efficacy in one case and the development of generalized arthalgias in the other case.

Treatment of hidradenitis supurativa with infliximab constitutes a moderately useful alternative in some cases.