Itraconazole treatment - January 2004
Itraconazole in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis: a new
treatment modality.
Baysal V, Yildirim M, Ozcanli C, Ceyhan AM.
BACKGROUND: Due to the high rate of recurrence, seborrheic dermatitis
(SD) represents a therapeutic problem. AIM: To evaluate the role of
oral itraconazole in the treatment of SD. PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Thirty-two patients with SD were enrolled in the study. All topical
and oral treatments were stopped. The patients applied 1%
hydrocortisone cream twice daily for 1 month. In addition, they took
itraconazole, 200 mg/day, during the first week of the first month
and then hydrocortisone cream was stopped and itraconazole (200
mg/day) was given on the first 2 days of the following 11 months. The
patients were followed for 2 months without medicine. The severity
score was measured at the initial evaluation, and at the first, 12th,
and 14th months. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients completed the study.
There was a statistically significant decrease in the mean severity
score at the first, 12th, and 14th months. On the final evaluation at
the 12th month, 19 of the 28 patients showed a complete improvement,
and three patients showed a slight improvement. CONCLUSIONS: This
study indicates that itraconazole plays an important role in the
treatment of SD.