Pustular Eruption following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Narrative Case-Based Review

From the beginning of public vaccinations until the relaxation of COVID-19 measures, many case reports, case series and case-control studies have been published indicating cutaneous side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. Post-vaccination pustular eruption was reported as well, with a challenging differential diagnosis between pustular psoriasis, AGEP (acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis) and neutrophil pustular eruptions. We report a case of 56-year-old woman presented with acute generalized pustular flare up culminated 5 days after the second dose of BNT162b2(Pfizer) vaccination. She was diagnosed with pustular psoriasis flare and due to the regulating role of IL-1 in pustular psoriasis and in the cytokine storm observed in cases of COVID-19 postvaccination inflammation; we decided to treat the patient with an IL-1 antagonist, subcutaneous anakinra (100 mg daily) along with acitretin. One week later, after anakinra withdrawal, she presented a pustular psoriasis flare and a 7-day anakinra re-administration led to a satisfactory improvement in the skin lesions. We also reviewed the medical literature and found 28 case reports with pustular eruption after the COVID-19 vaccination. We compared the patients reported, regarding sex, age, number of doses, post-vaccination period and vaccine brand, and compared those results with our patient. Finally, as indicated by our case and other cases with similarly treated pustular eruptions. targeted therapy to this cytokine imbalance such as anakinra (IL-1) antagonist can improve the clinical course of the patient.

Methylprednisolone Plus Low-Dose Methotrexate for Bullous Pemphigoid-A Single Center Retrospective Analysis

Monomodal systemic glucocorticoids remain the mainstay of treatment for bullous pemphigoid (BP). In this retrospective, single-arm study, we evaluated the feasibility (efficacy and tolerability) of the combination of methylprednisolone and low-dose (up to 12.5 mg/week) methotrexate (MP + MTX) for BP. At week 12, 53/55 (96.4%) patients initiated on MP + MTX during a five-year period (potential follow up time: ≥4 years) remained on treatment. At this time-point, BP remission was achieved in all compliant patients (including n = 24 cases of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors-associated BP; 12-week remission rate: 100% [95% CI: 91.9–100.0%]; mean time to remission: 29.5 days, SEM: 2.3 days) at a mean cumulative MP dose to disease control of 678.4 mg (SEM = 49.4 mg). Eight patients relapsed during follow up (10.81 [95% CI: 5.16–21.72] relapses/100 person years, py), and seven manifested a severe adverse event (6.80 [95% CI: 3.00–14.28] severe adverse events/100 py); however, 73.4% (±7.9%) had suffered neither a relapse nor a SAE at the three-years follow up. Continuing low dose MP intake (≤8 mg/day) beyond week 12 in combination with MTX minimized the risk of a feasibility limiting event (p = 0.013). Conclusively, the combination of methylprednisolone with methotrexate is a promising, safe, and efficient modality for BP patients, which enables rapid glucocorticoid tapering.

Synthetic antimalarial drugs and the triggering of psoriasis - do we need disease-specific guidelines for the management of patients with psoriasis at risk of malaria?

BACKGROUND

Α distinct side effect of the synthetic quinolinic antimalarial drugs, still widely used for the treatment and prophylaxis of malaria, is the induction of psoriasis in predisposed or susceptible individuals.

OBJECTIVE

To describe two patients that had induction and exacerbation of psoriasis due to the administration of hydroxychloroquine, to adapt pertinent literature on the pathophysiology of this side effect, to review psoriasis-triggered cases by newer, non-quinolinic antimalarials, and to propose malaria treatment and prophylaxis guidelines for psoriatic patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Two patients, a 40-year-old female with unknown history of psoriasis and a 37-year-old primigravida with an established history of psoriasis, were treated with hydroxychloroquine for a newly diagnosed lichen planopilaris and for an exacerbation of psoriatic arthritis, respectively. PubMed was searched (last accessed 20 October 2012) employing as search strategy the keywords (psoriasis) AND (drug), where "drug" is the name of each of the newer, non-quinolinic antimalarials.

RESULTS

Psoriasis was controlled in both patients. The primigravida gave birth to a healthy child at 39 weeks of gestation. The literature review returned no articles that linked the newer antimalarials with psoriasis.

CONCLUSION

Despite the increased awareness, antimalarials-triggered psoriasis is still diagnosed. Fortunately, the current artemisinin-based antimalarial treatment can be safely offered to susceptible individuals. Additionally, prophylaxis with doxycycline or the combination atovaquone-proguanil could be a safe suggestion for malaria prophylaxis in psoriatic patients.