Hidradenitis suppurativa, introduction

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a prevalent and devastating inflammatory skin disease predominating in women and minorities. HS is characterized by painful recurrent abscesses, foul-smelling purulent drainage, sinus tract and fistula formation, and disfiguring scarring involving intertriginous body sites including the axillae, breasts, groin, and buttocks. Disease onset typically occurs in the second to fourth decades of life and is associated with significant impacts on physical and psychological well-being due to pain, shame, and isolation, leading to profound suffering and despair. HS is both clinically and biologically understudied and therefore poorly understood. As a result, no uniformly effective therapies exist for management, and until recently, there was a paucity of high-level evidence to support current treatments.