Effective topical combination therapy for treatment of lichen striatus in children: a case series and review

Abstract

Lichen striatus (LS) is an uncommon linear dermatosis that is primarily seen in children from 4 months to 15 years of age. While some of these eruptions are asymptomatic, others can be quite pruritic. In darker-skinned individuals, post-inflammatory hypopigmentation can be significant and may provide a cause for concern for the patients and/or their parents. In our case series of 4 patients, we observed rapid resolution of LS by combining a topical retinoid with a topical steroid. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful treatment with this kind of combination therapy in the English literature. The patients not only achieved satisfying cosmesis, but also complete resolution of their pruritus. The most common side effect of topical tazarotene is localized irritation at treatment sites, but the patients in this particular series tolerated the treatment well.