Treatment of eczema with cyclophosphamide and azathioprine

Nine patients with eczema were treated with the immunosuppressive drugs cyclophosphamide and azathioprine. In all patients the eczema was severe and incapacitating and had not responded satisfactorily to systemic and topical corticosteroid therapy. The eczema improved in all patients and systemic corticosteroids, which had resulted in undesirable side-effects, could be decreased or stopped. Leukopenia was not necessary for achieving clinical improvement. Several months of treatment were needed to obtain significant improvement in the eczema and long term remissions followed cessation of therapy.