Iloprost administration in acrodermatitis of Hallopeau complicated by acquired toes syndactyly: a case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE

Acrodermatitis Continua of Hallopeau (ACH) is a variant of pustular psoriasis often very difficult to treat. Secondary syndactyly, also called "pseudosyndactyly", is rare and can be a complication of burns, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa or trauma. If left untreated, joint complications and definitive functional impairments may occur.

CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 74-year-old man with acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau involving the toes and complicated by syndactyly. ACH regression following Iloprost administration was also observed.

DISCUSSION: Published studies are mainly limited to case reports only, due to the rarity of the disease. Therefore, there are no clear-cut therapeutic management guidelines available for this chronic and sometimes debilitating disease. ACH is often recalcitrant to the available therapies. Topical and systemic treatments have been described in literature with no long-lasting results.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this is the first report of foot syndactyly associated to ACH. In our patient, ACH symptoms regressed with Iloprost administration: this finding has never been previously described in literature. If confirmed by other clinical experiences, Iloprost could be a further therapeutic option in ACH.