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PAMELA G. FITCH, PATRICIA RETTIG, JON M. BURNHAM, TERRI H. FINKEL, ALBERT C. YAN, EVREN AKIN, and RANDY Q. CRON ABSTRACT. Methods. A retrospective chart review was performed for 17 pediatric patients with LS who failed topical therapy and were subsequently treated with MTX (12.5–25 mg weekly) with or without oral corticosteroids. A structured followup telephone call to the families was used to assess patient satisfaction. Results. Skin findings improved in 16 of 17 patients with a median time to improvement of 2.25 and 2.0 months for MTX alone or in combination with corticosteroids. Only one patient had active lesions at the most recent followup visit. Fifteen of 17 families reported improvement in their child's lesions after beginning MTX. Twelve of 17 patients were treated with MTX and oral corticosteroids. There were no major adverse events. Conclusion. MTX appears to be a safe and effective therapy for pediatric LS. (J Rheumatol 2006; 33:609–14)
Key Indexing Terms: LOCALIZED SCLERODERMA From the Department of Pediatrics and Dermatology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Department of Pediatrics, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Dr. Cron was supported in part by grants from the Nickolett Family Awards Program for JRA Research and the Ethel Brown Foerderer Fund for Excellence. P.G. Fitch, MD, Resident Physician, Department of Pediatrics; P. Rettig, RN, MSN, CRNP, Nurse Practitioner; J.M. Burnham, MD, Assistant Professor; T.H. Finkel, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Chief, Division of Rheumatology; A.C. Yan, MD, Assistant Professor, Section of Pediatric Dermatology; R.Q. Cron, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; E. Akin, MD, Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare. Address reprint requests to Dr. R.Q. Cron, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3615 Civic Center Blvd., Abramson Research Center, Room 1102B, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4318, USA. E-mail: rqcron@mail.med.upenn.edu Accepted for publication November 23, 2005. All rights reserved. |
