Metformin as Adjunctive Therapy for Pediatric Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder seen in adolescents and adults characterized by abscesses, sinus tracts and scarring, typically affecting intertriginous skin. Treatments often provide suboptimal control of the disease, and there are limited reports of therapies utilized in the pediatric population. There are no published guidelines or consensus for the treatment of pediatric HS.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of metformin as adjunctive treatment in adolescent patients with HS who have not responded to standard therapies at a single institution.
RESULTS: Retrospective chart review identified 16 pediatric patients treated with metformin as adjunctive therapy for HS. Baseline scores were Hurley 1 in eleven (69%) and Hurley 2 in five (31%) patients. Follow-up visit data showed six (67%) patients were Hurley 1 and three (33%) patients were Hurley 2; five patients showed improvement on metformin with decreased frequency of flares, and five patients had no improvement. Six patients were lost to follow up or data was not available. Two patients discontinued metformin therapy due to side effects, including gastrointestinal distress and mood changes; the third patient discontinued due to lack of improvement. Two patients had mildly elevated liver transaminases prior to metformin initiation which improved while on metformin therapy.
DISCUSSION: For some pediatric patients, metformin as an adjunctive therapy may help…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 16 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Metformin as an adjuvant in breast cancer treatment
- Metformin Lysosomal Targeting: A Novel Aspect to Be Investigated for Metformin Repurposing in Neurodegenerative Diseases?
- Aberrant HSF1 signaling activation underlies metformin amelioration of myocardial infarction in mice
- Metformin induces ZFP36 by mTORC1 inhibition in cervical cancer-derived cell lines
- Protein Interaction Network for Identifying Vascular Response of Metformin (Oral Antidiabetic)
- Preventing Long COVID With Metformin
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.