[Review: beta-blocking agents in dermatology (author's transl)]

The authors present a survey of the side effects of beta-blocking agents. Practolol has been linked with a lupus syndrome characterized by biological abnormalities and eventually clinical signs; later on, other beta-blocking agents have been able to induce such manifestations. Thus, all beta-blocking agents proved hazardous and they must be prescribed with extreme caution in patients with immunological imbalance. Furthermore, pruritus and lichenoid or psoriasiform dermatitis have been documented. This must be kept in mind in the presence of any unspecific rash in elderly patients.