title: Urticarial vasculitis syndrome effectively treated with dapsone and pentoxifylline.
abstract: Urticarial vasculitis is difficult to treat. We report here on a 40-year-old woman with a 16-year history of idiopathic hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome. Her disease had been resistant to treatment with H1- and H2-blockers, indomethacin, dapsone and interferon alpha but responded to > 25 mg/day prednisolone. Monotherapy with pentoxifylline was also of only minor benefit. Using a combination of dapsone (100 mg/day) and pentoxifylline (1,200 mg/day), we observed a gradual improvement resulting in a complete remission within 8 weeks. Complete control of symptoms could be maintained for 18 months without any serious side-effects. This type of treatment may be of benefit in other therapy-resistant cases of hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome, particularly in view of its excellent tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Clinics Rudolf Virchow, FU-Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nürnberg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grabbe
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Czarnetzki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000032:analysis; D003176:Complement C3 / Q000032:analysis; D003622:Dapsone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010431:Pentoxifylline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012074:Remission Induction; D013577:Syndrome; D014581:Urticaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018366:Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D003176:Complement C3; D004338:Drug Combinations; D003622:Dapsone; D010431:Pentoxifylline