Skin disorders with prominent eosinophilic infiltration treated successfully with nicotine. Report of two cases.

BACKGROUND

Nicotine was effective in the treatment of skin disorders attributable to neutrophils such as pyoderma gangrenosum and orogenital ulcerations due to Behçet's disease.

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the efficacy of nicotine for treating skin disorders with prominent eosinophilic infiltration.

METHODS

A 67-year-old man with Kimura's disease was treated for 2 weeks with nicotine chewing gum (6 mg/day). A 50-year-old woman with erythema nodosum with eosinophilic infiltration was treated for 4 weeks with transdermal nicotine patches (5 mg/day).

RESULTS

Both patients showed a dramatic clinical and histopathological improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that nicotine may be useful for treating skin disorders with eosinophilic infiltration as well as neutrophilic dermatoses.