Drug Survival of Oral Retinoids in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Real-Life Cohort Study

Klasiena Bouwman*, Pim Aarts, Koen Dudink, Jiasi Hao, Behrooz Z. Alizadeh, Lisette M. Prens, Allard R. J. V. Vossen, Kelsey R. van Straalen, Hessel H. van der Zee, Barbara Horvath

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
73 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction Cohort studies on the use of retinoids for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have yielded contradicting results. As the clinical presentation of HS is heterogeneous, with different predilection sites and hallmark features, it can be hypothesized that HS phenotypes are associated with the effectiveness of specific retinoid treatments. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the drug survival of oral retinoids in the treatment of HS and to establish predictors for longer treatment duration. Methods A retrospective, dual-center study was conducted in the Netherlands in adult HS patients treated with oral retinoids between 2011 and 2021. Drug survival analyses were performed through Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Additionally, Cox regression models were used to determine predictors for a longer drug survival. Results In total, 102 patients were included. Overall drug survival of (low-dose) isotretinoin (n = 66) at 12 and 24 months was 44.2% and 15.5%, respectively. Termination of treatment was mostly due to ineffectiveness (26%). Presence of widespread comedones (p = 0.03) and the use of concomitant systemic medication (p = 0.04) were associated with a prolonged treatment duration. For acitretin (n = 36), the overall drug survival was 42.0% at 12 months and 37.4% at 24 months, and was also predominantly determined by ineffectiveness (28%). Interestingly, the scarring folliculitis phenotype (p < 0.05) was associated with prolonged drug survival time for acitretin treatment relative to the regular phenotype. Conclusion Comparable drug survival rates at 12 months for isotretinoin and acitretin were found. HS patients with widespread comedones and the scarring folliculitis phenotype could benefit from treatment with isotretinoin or acitretin, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)905-914
Number of pages10
JournalAmerican Journal of Clinical Dermatology
Volume23
Issue number6
Early online date7 Sept 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding
The HiCARE/HiSURE and HiScreen registries are co-funded by AbbVie Netherlands. The co-funder had no role in the design or conduct of the study, the interpretation of the data, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Drug Survival of Oral Retinoids in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Real-Life Cohort Study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this