Relation of Quinacrine Hydrochloride to Lichenoid Dermatitis (Atypical Lichen Planus)

AMONG the many problems and diseases incident to the service of troops in tropical areas during World War II, those relating to the skin have had a prominent place. Of these, the disease which has been called "atypical lichen planus" has been not only one of the most interesting but one of the most baffling from the etiologic standpoint. Accounts of a cutaneous disease occurring in the Southwest Pacific which resembled lichen planus began to be received in the office of the Surgeon General in the latter part of 1943. Schmitt, Alpins and Chambers1and Major Thomas W. Nisbet2were among the first to recognize the disease and to submit confidential reports of their observations and opinions. Subsequently a number of other reports of independent observations of this disease were received, not only from the Pacific3but from other theaters of operation (Mediterranean4and