Hepatotoxic reactions in a patient treated with etretinate

Hepatotoxic reactions and eosinophilia developed in a 74-year-old woman who had been treated with an aromatic retinoid compound, etretinate, for severe psoriasis palmaris et plantaris. Rapid improvement in her condition followed discontinuation of the drug therapy. Liver enzyme elevations recurred after reinstitution of etretinate therapy; these levels quickly returned to normal after the drug therapy was again discontinued. Our patient's reaction to etretinate may have been a hypersensitivity reaction.