Streptomycin therapy of erythema induratum.

Abstract

Since streptomycin was first isolated from Streptomyces griseus, in September 1943, reports have appeared in the medical literature concerning its efficacy in treating various diseases of the skin. 1 Those conditions which have been reported as amenable to streptomycin therapy include lupus vulgaris, scrofuloderma, tuberculosis miliaris disseminata faciei, tuberculous ulcers of the tongue, tuberculosis verrucosa cutis, actinomycosis, tularemia, chancroid, granuloma inguinale and various dermatoses due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Bacillus pyocyaneus). 2 A careful search of the literature fails to reveal any reports on the treatment of erythema induratum with this antibiotic, and therefore two cases from the dermatology clinic at the Vanderbilt University Hospital are being recorded. REPORT OF CASES Case 1.— E. M., a 36 year old white housewife, was first seen in October 1945 at the Vanderbilt University clinic. The glands in her neck had begun enlarging eight months earlier, and a sudden acute swelling had appeared the preceding