Successful Treatment of Severe Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris with Cyclosporine A in An Infant

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) is a rare chronic papulosquamous disease and is often difficult to treat, especially in children. Here we reported a PRP infant successfully treated by cyclosporine A. Case presentation: An 18-month-old infant with severe PRP presented with reddish follicular papules and inflammatory, infiltrated erythema over the whole body. The condition rapidly and completely responded to oral cyclosporine A. Complete clearance of the lesions was achieved within 16 weeks, and no recurrence developed during 6 months of follow-up. During both treatment and follow-up, routine blood parameters, serum creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, liver function, and blood pressure were regularly monitored once a month and remained within the reference ranges. Moreover, the child grew and developed normally and the body weight increased by 3 kg. Discussion: To date, there are not well established protocols for treatment of PRP in children. Cyclosporine A has been demonstrated to be effective treatment in psoriasis in adults and children which do not respond to some other treatments. The rapid onset of action and good efficacy of cyclosporine A were observed in our case, who achieved complete response after 16 weeks of treatment without any side effects. Conclusion: Cyclosporine A might be a safe and effective option for treating severe PRP in children.