Sensorimotor polyneuropathy after a 1-month treatment with oral acitretin

We report a 40-year-old male patient with widespread chronic plaque psoriasis, who complained of distal numbness in the right leg with gradual proximal extension after 1 month of treatment with oral acitretin. Neurological examination showed suppressed ankle reflexes, reduced pain and vibration sense in a glove and stocking distribution, and mild weakness of feet dorsiflexion. Neurophysiologic examination revealed a shift of the amplitude of all sensory and compound muscle action potentials toward low values, whereas in the case of sural and popliteal nerves, the amplitude felt below reference limits. Follow-up examination of the patient 1 month after treatment discontinuation revealed no abnormal neurological symptoms or signs, whereas the values of the neurophysiologic measurements had returned to normal levels. The case of sensorimotor polyneuropathy presented herein underlines the necessity for detailed neurological and neurophysiologic examinations of patients before and during oral administration of acitretin.