Refractory erythrodermic psoriasis in a child with an excellent outcome by using etanercept

Abstract

Psoriasis affects 0.12% to 0.71% of all chil dren. Erythrodermic pso ria sis is an uncom mon but serious disor der, occur ring in less than 1.5% of cases. Tumor necro sis fac tor-alpha bloc kers (TNF-) are a new class of drugs used to treat mode ra te to seve re pso ria sis refrac tory to con ven tio nal the ra pies. Etanercept is a TNFrecep tor fusion pro tein, appro ved by the FDA for trea ting juve ni le rheu ma toid arth ri tis. We pre sent the case of a 7-year-old suf fe ring from pla que pso ria sis since 8 months old which evol ved into eryth ro der ma refrac tory to cyclos po ri ne and metho tre xa te. Patient res pon ded excel lently to eta ner cept, with no adver se side effects.