Topical Tacrolimus Therapy for Erythematous Lesions of Dermatomyositis

We report a female patient with dermatomyositis whose erythematous lesions were successfully treated with topical tacrolimus. In spite of the usually good response of muscle symptoms to systemic corticosteroid, the skin lesions of dermatomyositis often remain resistant to conventional therapy. The skin lesions of our patient were markedly improved after four weeks of topical application of tacrolimus. The clinical efficacy of tacrolimus has been described for other skin disorders, but tacrolimus ointment is also useful for treating the skin lesions of dermatomyositis.