Adalimumab for treatment of severe ulcerative sarcoidosis

Abstract

Ulcerative sarcoidosis is a rare variant of cutaneous sarcoidosis that may present as ulceration with necrotic yellow plaques on the lower extremities, face, arms, trunk, or genital area. Adalimumab, a human monoclonal anti-TNF antibody, is an emerging treatment for recalcitrant cutaneous sarcoidosis. We describe severe ulcerative sarcoidosis in a 60-year-old woman with chronic ulcerative necrobiosis lipoidica-like plaques on her left arm for over 20 years. Her condition had not responded to previous treatments with hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, and sulfasalazine. After a four-month course of adalimumab therapy in addition to pentoxifylline and prednisone with taper, the patient had significant improvement in her skin disease.