Combination antimalarials in the treatment of cutaneous dermatomyositis: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To observe whether the use of antimalarials in combination resulted in significant improvement in the cutaneous signs and symptoms of patients with dermatomyositis who did not otherwise respond to the use of single-agent antimalarial therapy.

DESIGN: Retrospective case series of 17 patients treated between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 2002.

SETTING: An ambulatory medical dermatology clinic in an academic center.Patients Patients had adult-onset dermatomyositis with predominantly cutaneous symptoms and a follow-up period at our clinic of at least 6 months. Cases in which it was not possible to assess the effect of treatment on cutaneous symptoms were not included. Intervention Treatment regimens varied and included the use of antimalarials, prednisone, methotrexate, and other medications.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physician-observed and patient-reported improvement based on erythema, pruritus, and extent of affected skin.

RESULTS: Seven of 17 patients experienced at least near clearance in cutaneous symptoms with the use of antimalarial therapy alone: 4 of these patients required combination therapy (hydroxychloroquine sulfate-quinacrine hydrochloride or chloroquine phosphate-quinacrine), while 3 of them responded well to antimalarial monotherapy. The median time required to reach the response milestones on the final working therapeutic regimen was 3 months (mean, 4.8 months; range, 2-14 months). Six patients did not respond significantly to any type of therapy, including nonantimalarials.

CONCLUSION: Our experience suggests that a significant subgroup of patients whose skin lesions have been unresponsive to a single antimalarial benefit from combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and quinacrine or chloroquine and quinacrine, but controlled clinical trials are warranted to assess the extent of benefit.