In this article, the authors present an overview of dermatological adverse events of etanercept described in the literature and information on the occurrence, severity, treatment, and course of these reactions.

MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for reports on individual patients who developed a dermatological adverse event associated with systemic etanercept treatment for any indication in any type of original article. Of 126 included study reports, 72 separate specific dermatologic adverse events of etanercept were mentioned and in 101 case reports/case series, 153 individual patients with approximately 65 different specific diagnoses were reported.

The following reactions are addressed:

• Infections

• Lupus

• Vasculitis

• Malignant neoplasms

• Psoriasis

• Injection site reactions

• Miscellaneous

The authors discuss practical considerations when managing such patients, noting that “diagnostic steps do not deviate from the norm in these patients, but management of the dermatologic adverse events may need special attention.”

They conclude that etanercept is associated with a wide variety of dermatological adverse events, and although these are usually mild, some reactions are serious and even potentially life threatening, therefore, all drug-associated reactions should be carefully evaluated.