PYODERMA GANGRENOSUM ------------------------------------------------------- For the treatment of pyoderma gangrenosum, I would add intralesional steroids to the border. Very effective. Daniel Mitchell MD ------------------ cyclosporine is the most reliable Rx for PG - I'm not aware of any failures. I've seen 1 case do well with Cromolyn, but that was a superficial PG -- if you have bad trouble you'd best go right to Cyclosporine. K Smith MD ---------- I have a 75 year old woman who has pyoderma grangrenosum. She responded to Dapsone 150 mg/day and prednisone. On 60 mg/day she had partial healing of the ulcers. However she could not tolerate the prednisone and has flared on 20 mg/day. I have recently begun intralesional injections and changed the dapsone to Immuran. I am trying to get Thalidomide for her. Have any of you used thalidomide for pyoderma gangrenosum? Do you have any references? My medline searches have not been productive. Harry Goldin, M.D. ------------------ In Canada, cyclosporine would be far easier to obtain than thalidomide. How hypertensive is this patient? Did her blood pressure increase while on prednisone? A few clinicians that I've spoken to consider CSA to be the drug of first choice for PG. As long as you're watching the BP and renal function, CSA is a relatively safe drug. Harvey Lui University of British Columbia ------------------------------ Thalidomide has a mode of action similar to cyclosporine so I suppose it would work for PG, but usually I'd just go with CyA unless the patient had poor kidneys, hypertension, or some other problem with CyA. KC Smith MD FRCPC ----------------- ------- 4.17.96