Resorcinol peels as a possible self-treatment of painful nodules in hidradenitis suppurativa.

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by abscess formation localized to apocrine sweat gland-bearing skin. The most important factor in patients' overall assessment of disease severity is pain. The duration of abscesses takes days to weeks and are always painful.

AIM: To assess the efficacy of self-treatment with topical 15% resorcinol in an open study.

METHODS: The case notes of 12 women with stage 1 or 2 HS treated with topical resorcinol and followed up for at least 1 year were reviewed. The patients rated the efficacy of treatment on global maximum pain of nodules and abscesses on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and by self-report of the mean duration (days) of a painful lesion.

RESULTS: All patients experienced a significant decrease in pain as assessed by VAS and reported a reduction in mean duration of the painful abscesses.

CONCLUSIONS: Topical treatment with 15% resorcinol reduced pain from painful nodules in all patients with HS. Further trials are warranted to confirm these results.