Doxycycline-induced cutaneous inflammation with systemic symptoms in a patient with acne vulgaris.

BACKGROUND

Doxycycline is a commonly prescribed antibiotic for the treatment of acne vulgaris. Often preferred to other tetracyclines due to a safer and milder side-effect profile, doxycycline is more frequently prescribed as a treatment of this common condition.

OBJECTIVE

To present a case report of a young patient who developed skin eruptions over the extremities; myalgias; fatigue; swelling involving the face, hands, and feet; headache; and mood changes after 2 years of using doxycycline. She promptly developed similar symptoms after a rechallenge with doxycycline 1 year later.

CONCLUSIONS

This important finding will make practitioners more vigilant to the side effects of this medication despite its current safety profile and regardless of the time that a patient is using it.