Patients' acceptance of etretinate therapy. A retrospective survey of long-term etretinate therapy in chronic keratotic and pustular skin diseases.

From January 1976 to April 1982 etretinate was used to treat patients with morbus Darier (25 patients), pustulosis palmo-plantaris (72 patients), psoriasis (79 patients), and hyperkeratotic eczema of hands and feet (eczema keratoticum; 41 patients). Dosage of etretinate ranged between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg/day. In a retrospective survey at April 1, 1982, we observed a beneficial effect of the drug in all patients with morbus Darier, in 85% of patients with pustulosis palmo-plantaris, in 69% with psoriasis, and in 93% with eczema keratoticum. Many patients experienced side effects. Within 9 months more than half of the patients had stopped treatment primarily due to side effects, except patients with morbus Darier, whose median duration of treatment was 34 months with a range from 7 to 60 months. We will recommend that etretinate is used during short-term or intermittent courses of therapy, except in patients with morbus Darier, where a low dosage of etretinate is able to give a beneficial clinical effect.