Cimetidine ; High dose therapy ; Molluscum contagiosum
Abstract
Background: Molluscum contagiosum is often a difficult problem for dermatologists to treat. Cimetidine is a H2 histamine receptor antagonist that has been used mainly to treat peptic ulcer disease. The use of cimetidine in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum has been reported previously using a dose of 40 ㎎/㎏/day, and has the advantage of being painless and easy to administer, especially for recurrent, extensive, facial and eyelid lesions.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of high dose cimetidine therapy for molluscum contagiosum.
Methods: Twenty patients with molluscum contagiosum were treated using high dose cimetidine therapy (14 females, 6 males; age range 2~16 years).
Results: Of the 20 patients who completed the study, 12 patients (60%) showed complete remission, 3 patients (15%) showed partial remission and 5 patients (25%) showed no response. Five out of 8 patients with atopic dermatitis showed complete remission and one showed partial remission. Of the 12 patients without atopic dermatitis, 7 showed complete remission and 2 showed partial remission.
Conclusion: High dose cimetidine therapy is an effective treatment modality for molluscum contagiosum, and has no severe adverse effects.