Failure of Anakinra in a Case of Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, painful, inflammatory disorder of hair follicles and manifests with several cutaneous findings, including double comedones, papules, cysts, nodules, draining abscesses, and sinus tracts. It is associated with tremendous morbidity and decreased quality of life. Treatment of HS is challenging. Recently, there have been mixed reports regarding the efficacy of anakinra, an interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, in the management of HS.


CASE: A 55-year-old African American male with a several year history of severe HS, recalcitrant to multiple prior treatments, was treated with a 12 week course of anakinra 100 mg subcutaneously daily. After 3 months of therapy, minimal change was observed, and the patient strongly preferred to cease therapy due to lack of improvement and pain associated with daily injections.


CONCLUSION: Our case of severe HS proved refractory to anakinra. Tolerance of this therapy may be a limiting factor for some patients due to necessity for daily injections.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2016;15(6):772-774.