Angioedema without urticaria caused by oral acitretin

Abstract

The efficacy of oral acitretin in the systemic treatment of severe and recalcitrant dermatoses has been established in a large number of clinical trials. Its mucocutaneous and ocular adverse reactions are common or relatively common, whereas systemic side effects are either uncommon or rare and include teratogenesis, hyperlipidemia, hepatotoxicity, intracranial hypertension, myopathy, and peripheral neuropathy. Angioedema is a term used to describe an acute, solitary or multiple, circumscribed, and non-pitting mucocutaneous swelling that affects the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue, lasts 24 to 72 hours, and may become potentially life-threatening when the pharynx and/or the larynx are involved. We report here the case of a 51-year old female psoriatic patient with angioedema (without urticaria) due to oral acitretin, confirmed by a positive oral provocation test. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second description of such an adverse reaction to acitretin.