Acitretin and etretinate in the treatment of palmoplantar pustulosis: a double-blind comparative trial

Sixty patients with palmoplantar pustulosis were treated in a double-blind trial with either acitretin (etretin, Ro 10-1670) or with etretinate. The study consisted of 4 weeks of therapy with three 10 mg capsules/day followed by 8 weeks of therapy with a varying number of capsules given daily according to therapeutic response. At the end of the 12-week treatment period, the mean number of pustules (+/- SEM) had decreased from 57.8 (+/- 8.6) to 3.9 (+/- 1.6) in the acitretin group and from 57.1 (+/- 14.1) to 5.7 (+/- 2.7) in the etretinate group. With regard to influence on erythema, infiltration, scaling, and area involved, similar improvements were obtained in both treatment groups. Adverse reactions of the hypervitaminosis A type were observed with almost the same frequency and severity in both treatment groups. The mean number of 10 mg capsules used daily was comparable in the two groups: 2.82 (range 1.23-4.67) for acitretin and 2.77 (range 1.60-4.82) for etretinate. It can be concluded that acitretin and etretinate do not significantly differ with regard to efficacy and overall safety in the treatment of patients with palmoplantar pustulosis.