Successful monotherapy of severe and intractable atopic dermatitis by photopheresis

Background: Patients with chronic atopic dermatitis can become unresponsive to standard immunosuppressive therapy and thus pose a serious therapeutic problem. Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of photopheresis in the management of patients with severe and intractable atopic dermatitis. Methods: Photopheresis was used as monotherapy in patients (n = 3) who previously did not respond to treatment with glucocorticosteroids, cyclosporine, phototherapy, or photochemotherapy. Patients were treated at 2-week intervals (total number of treatments = 10). Results: In all patients, photopheresis induced clinical improvement and reduction of elevated serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein and total IgE. Prolongation of the intervals between treatments from 2 to 4 weeks caused worsening in one patient, whereas shortening of treatment-free intervals improved both clinical and laboratory findings. Conclusion: These studies indicate that photopheresis may be used as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with severe atopic dermatitis that has become intractable to standard therapeutic modalities.