Photodynamic therapy for palmoplantar pustulosis: A case report

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterised by sterile, relapsing pustules on erythematous, scaly backgrounds on the palms and soles. PPP impairs quality of life and is notoriously challenging to manage. Here, we presented the case of a 79-year-old male who suffered from recalcitrant PPP for 9 years and responded not well to halometasone, acitretin capsules and oral Chinese traditional medicine. The patient showed improvement with a great reduction of erythema, scales, pustules after 5 sessions of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT), suggesting that ALA-PDT could be a potentially safe and effective therapeutic option for PPP.