TREATMENT OF CHRONIC DISCOID LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS WITH CHLOROQUINE (ARALEN)

Abstract

The treatment of discoid cutaneous lupus erythematosus was, until recently, very unsatisfactory. The disease not infrequently persists for many years, with intermittent exacerbations and partial remissions unrelated to any particular type of treatment. The only measure of regular value has been avoidance of exposure to sunlight. The effectiveness of the most commonly used treatment, injections of gold and sodium thiosulfate, is so equivocal in the experience of one of us (D. M. P.) that we have not used it at all for at least 12 years. The drug is toxic, and in patients with disseminated visceral lupus erythematosus, its ill-advised administration has sometimes produced disastrous results. The effectiveness of various compounds containing bismuth or arsenic has not been demonstrated without question; certainly any effects they have on discoid lupus erythematosus are feeble. Local destructive procedures, such as the use of carbon dioxide snow, are useful only in a small percentage