Psoriasis triggered by mefloquine.

A 46-year-old Caucasian man living on the central Mediterranean island of Gozo (Malta) was started on mefloquine 250 mg once weekly before a trip to lower Egypt. He took his medication 1 week before starting his holiday and was advised to continue it for 4 weeks after returning. He did not take any other medication and enjoyed the holiday, which he initially intended to repeat in the near future. His medical history revealed a number of episodes of psoriasis for which he sought dermatologic advice. He had been given systemic therapy on at least one occasion, but the condition had been fairly quiescent for some time and he had not needed to consult a dermatologist for more than 4 years. Soon after the third tablet of mefloquine and effectively just after his return home to Gozo, the patient noticed that the psoriasis was "creeping back." He noted progressive deterioration in his skin problem but nevertheless finished the recommended course of therapy considering that "being sure about not developing malaria was far more important than a touch of psoriasis." The psoriasis worsened to the extent that he had taken off work for 2 weeks from his job as a self-employed carpenter at the time of referral. On examination, clearly there was a significant flare up of his psoriasis with severe involvement of the hands (Figure 1) and feet and less so over the rest of his body. He had been off work and matters were steadily getting worse in spite of topical treatment with a combination of calcipotriol-betamethasone ointment. Oral methotrexate 15 mg once weekly was commenced together with topical therapy with good results (Figure 2).