They had taken oral minocycline for approximately 4 weeks to 4 months before the onset of lingual pigmentation. One patient had partial resolution of the pigmentation 3 months following the discontinuation of therapy. The clinical course of the other patient is unknown. It is of utmost importance to affected patients that cutaneous pigmentation usually resolves with the cessation of minocycline treatment. This observation is supported by our findings.
Oral hyperpigmentation can arise from a multitude of exogenous and endogenous causes.
This striking adverse effect of minocycline is important to consider in the differential diagnosis of localized hyperpigmentation of the tongue. Melanie S. Hecker, MD, MBA New York Selected from Arch Dermatol. Siller GM, Marcus A, Savage N. Minocycline-induced oral hyperpigmentation. J Am Acad Dermatol. Meyerson M, Cohen P, Hymes S. Lingual hyperpigmentation associated with minocycline therapy.