title: Treatment of a Crohn's disease-related cutaneous facial lesion with topical tacrolimus.
abstract: We report a case of an orofacial lesion in Crohn's disease successfully treated with tacrolimus ointment. A 22-year-old woman with Crohn's disease presented with a discharging lesion on the right side of her face. Intraorally, there was a resultant loss of the sulcal depth. She reported a 1-year history of variable right-sided facial swelling for which she had undergone extraoral incision and drainage, resulting in localized paresthesia and nonhealing of the incision site. Following exclusion tests, a treatment of twice-daily extraoral application of tacrolimus 0.1% ointment was commenced. Upon review, the lesion had reduced in size, with minimal discharge. Further improvement over 12 months of tacrolimus use resulted in a satisfactory cosmetic result as well as resolution of the intraoral features and reestablishment of the full sulcal depth. This case illustrates the successful use of topical tacrolimus to treat a cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease.
authors.affiliation: Senior House Officer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, England. Electronic address: Nehashah88@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Neha P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Gastroenterology, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London, England.
authors.forename: Rishi M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant, Oral Medicine Unit, King's College London Dental Institute; Deputy Director of Education (Assessment), Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals Trust, London, England.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Escudier
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009824:Ointments; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009824:Ointments; D016559:Tacrolimus