Gougerot-Carteaud syndrome treated with acitretin: A case report

©Copyright 2017 by Turkish Society of Dermatology and Venereology Turkderm-Turkish Archives of Dermatology and Venereology published by Galenos Yayınevi. Turkderm-Turk Arch Dermatol Venereology 2017;51:56-8 Address for Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Betül Demir MD, Fırat University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Elazığ, Turkey Phone. : +90 507 340 35 04 E-mail: drbkaraca@yahoo.com Received/Geliş Tarihi: 22.03. 2016 Accepted/Kabul Tarihi: 07.06. 2016 Introduction Gougerot-Carteaud syndrome (GCS) is also known as confluent and reticulated papillomatosis. It is a rarely seen dermatosis characterized by reticular and hyperpigmented plaques with a tendency to merge with each other in areas such as the neck, upper body, and axilla in young adults. The disease has been considered to be an abnormal host defense, which develops against malassezia furfur, staphylococcus, or propionibacterium acnes. On the other hand, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hirsutism, Cushing’s syndrome, menstrual dysfunction, vitamin A deficiency, genetic predisposition, photosensitivity, cutaneous amyloidosis, and keratinization Gougerot-Carteaud sendromu (GCS) genç erişkinlerde boyun, üst gövde, aksilla gibi bölgelerde birbiri ile birleşmeye meyilli, retiküler, pigmente plaklarla karakterize nadir bir dermatozdur. Yirmi yaşında erkek hasta gövdesinde ve sırtında kahverengi renk değişikliği ve kaşıntı şikayeti ile başvurdu. Özgeçmişinde endokrinolojik bir hastalığı olmadığı ve herhangi bir ilaç kullanmadığı öğrenildi. Dermatolojik muayenesinde gövde ön ve arka yüzde, boyun bölgesinde hiperpigmente retiküler, verüköz papül ve plaklar mevcuttu. Potasyum hidroksit incelemede mantar elemanlarına rastlanmadı. Histopatolojide sepetsi hiperkeratoz, papillomatoz, hafif akantoz, bazal tabakada hiperpigmentasyon tespit edildi. 100 mg/gün minosiklin tedavisi başlandı. Tedavinin 3. ayında klinik yanıt alınamaması nedeni ile minosiklin tedavisi sonlandırıldı ve 30 mg/ gün asitretin tedavisi başlandı. Tedaviye başladıktan 1 ay sonra lezyonların hafif hiperpigmentasyon bırakarak iyileştiği tespit edildi. Biz burada minosikline klinik yanıtsızlık nedeniyle asitretin tedavisi başlanan ve kısa sürede başarılı sonuç alınan bir GCS olgusu sunuyoruz. Anahtar Kelimeler: Gougerot-Carteaud sendromu, konfluent retiküler papillomatozis, asitretin Gougerot-Carteaud syndrome (GCS) is a rarely seen dermatosis characterized by reticular and pigmented plaques with a tendency to merge with each other in areas such as the neck, upper body, and axilla in young adults. A 20-year-old male patient presented to the dermatology outpatient clinic with the complaints of itching and brown patches affecting the trunk, back and the neck. He had no endocrine diseases and used no drugs. Dermatological examination revealed reticulated, hyperpigmented, verrucous papules and plaques on the anterior surface of his trunk, upper back, and neck region. No fungal elements were encountered in the potassium hydroxide examination. Histopathologically, basket-like hyperkeratosis, papillomatosis, mild acanthosis, and hyperpigmentation in the basal layer were detected. Minocycline treatment was initiated at a dose of 100 mg/daily. At the three-month follow-up visit, minocycline treatment was terminated due to lack of clinical response, and 30 mg/day acitretin treatment was initiated. The lesions showed marked improvement except for a slight hyperpigmentation in the first month of the treatment. We report here a case of GCS in which acitretin was started due to clinical unresponsiveness to minocycline treatment and, substantially, a favorable result was obtained in a short time.