The association of the two antimalarials chloroquine and quinacrine for treatment-resistant chronic and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus.
Antimalarials are the first line in the treatment of chronic and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE). However, some patients show either no or only minor improvement on antimalarial monotherapy. We treated 14 patients (9 with chronic LE and 5 with subacute cutaneous LE) who had poorly responded to chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine with an association of chloroquine and quinacrine. The initial dose was: chloroquine 100 mg 3x/day and quinacrine 65 mg 3x/day. The skin lesions improved significantly or cleared totally in 5 of the 9 patients with chronic LE and in all the 5 patients with subacute cutaneous LE. These findings suggest that a chloroquine-quinacrine combination may sometimes be superior to the usual antimalarial monotherapy, especially for subacute LE. If chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine fails to control chronic or subacute cutaneous LE, chloroquine-quinacrine is worthy to be tried.
Feldmann
R
R
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
Salomon
D
D
Saurat
J H
JH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008178:Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008179:Lupus Erythematosus, Discoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011796:Quinacrine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced
D004338:Drug Combinations; D006886:Hydroxychloroquine; D002738:Chloroquine; D011796:Quinacrine