Treatment of psoriatic arthropathy with etretinate: a two-year follow-up

In psoriatic arthropathy the data obtained after two years of etretinate treatment in 20 adult male patients, are reported. The beneficial effects of the drug on the objective symptoms are accompanied by an improvement in the biohumoral parameters evaluated. The dose was 1 mg/kg/day for one month, with subsequent adjustments in relation to the results obtained with a maintenance dose of 25 mg/day, or where possible, 10 mg/day, or on alternate days, for a maximum period of 25 months. The side effects appeared to be of an acceptable degree of severity. The authors consider etretinate one of the drugs of first choice in the treatment of psoriatic arthropathy.