Severe onchocercal dermatosis responding to suramin and diethylcarbamazine : An illustrative case

Abstract

Diethylcarbamazine produced a temporary improvement in a case of severe onchocercal dermatosis, but did not affect the skin appearance. A combination of suramin followed by diethylcarbamazine caused complete and lasting remission of all symptoms, cleared up the dermatosis, eliminated the eosini-philia present, and seemed to prevent appearance of the frequently unfavorable side reactions observed after diethylcarbamazine therapy. Both the adult worms and the microfilariae seemed to be killed by the combined treatment.