Certolizumab to treat hidradenitis suppurativa

Abstract

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that affects apocrine gland-bearing skin. The management of HS with biologics has expanded significantly over the past few years. Certolizumab pegol is a pegylated (polyethylene glycol) antigen-binding fragment of a recombinant humanized anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody, which is approved for psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn’s disease. In recent years many reports have been merging on the use of certolizumab in treating hidradenitis suppurativa. The electronic database MEDLINE was searched through PubMed in February 2022 using the following search terms: Certolizumab “[All Fields] OR” certolizumab pegol”[All Fields] AND “Hidradenitis suppurativa”[All Fields]. The search revealed that certolizumab was used in 6 case reports to treat HS with a total of 7 patients. We can conclude that there are few cases in the literature discussing the use of certolizumab in HS, all of which, show a good and promising response with no reported side effects.