Topical treatment of perianal eczema with tacrolimus 0.1%.
BACKGROUND
Perianal eczema is an inflammatory skin disease with a high prevalence in most industrialized countries. As general practitioners and dermatologists frequently see patients with perianal eczema the need for efficient, fast and safe therapies is high. Topical calcineurin inhibitors such as tacrolimus (FK506) ameliorate cutaneous inflammation and associated pruritus in an array of inflammatory dermatoses.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of topical tacrolimus in perianal eczema.


METHODS
Twenty-four patients with perianal eczema were treated with tacrolimus 0.1% ointment twice daily on the affected skin area for 2 weeks.


RESULTS
All returning patients showed clinical improvement as assessed by macroscopic appearance and clinical score (modified SCORAD index).


CONCLUSIONS
In this short-term trial we demonstrate that topical tacrolimus 0.1% is safe, efficient and well tolerated in patients with perianal eczema irrespective of the underlying cause.
Schauber
J
J
Department of Dermatology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. juergen.schauber@med.uni-muenchen.de
Weisenseel
P
P
Ruzicka
T
T
D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001004:Anus Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004485:Eczema / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus