HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA OF THE ADULT AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

THE MANAGEMENT of hidradenitis suppurativa is sometimes difficult, and in chronic cases the results of treatment are often unsatisfactory. Because of therapeutic problems encountered, a review was made of 45 cases treated by us between 1950 and 1953. Table 1 gives a breakdown of these 45 cases from a clinical viewpoint. In acute hidradenitis the lesions were few in number, and they began as deep-seated nodules with a tendency towards cord-like coalescence. These characteristics permitted their clinical differentiation from furuncles of the axilla (or the groin) which are more superficial, more acutely inflamed, and do not show cord-like coalescence. In the chronic localized cases the lesions were also nodular and coalescent, and they showed only slight inflammatory reaction. The secretion was usually more serous than purulent, and there were always sinuses and tract formations as well as irregular and often hypertrophic scars. In the generalized cases most or all skin