Science Letters

Drug Therapy for Hidradenitis suppurativa: An Update

Afzaal Ahmed Bin Jameel, Bing Rong Zhou, Dan Luo*

Department of dermatology, The first affiliated hospital of Nanjing medical university, 300-guang zhou road, 210029, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Abstract

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, suppurative debilitating skin disease characterized by the presence of polymorphic recurrent inflammatory lesions with a malodorous discharge mainly distributed in the flexural and friction prone areas. The global prevalence of HS is about 4% with a 3:1 female to male ratio. With a pre-pubertal onset, it usually affects young individuals in their early twenties. With its chronic and recurrent course, HS leaves a debilitating impact on an affected individual's quality of life. The HS has a multifactorial etiology and the pathogenesis is unclear. Currently, there are several therapeutic options (antibiotics, retinoids, biologic and immunosuppressive agents) available which can only provide symptomatic relief for a transient time, but there is no definite cure for HS. Currently, dermatologists from all around the world face a stern challenge to find the right therapeutic combination in order to provide long lasting remissions to the affected individuals. In this review, we discussed different medical therapeutic options currently available for treating HS.

Keywords Hidradenitis suppurativa, acne inversa, Verneuil's disease, smoker's boils.

Received January 17, 2016 Accepted April 11, 2016 Abstract Published June 17, 2016 Manuscript Published August 15, 2016

*Corresponding author Dan Luo E-mail daniluo2005@163.com Tel +86-25-86796545