Korean J Dermatol.  2006 Aug;44(8):937-941.

Treatment of Molluscum Contagiosum with High Dose Cimetidine Therapy

• Chang JY
• Chung KY
• Chung WG

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Molluscum contagiosum is often a difficult problem for dermatologists to treat. Cimetidine is a H2 histamine receptor antagonist that has been used mainly to treat peptic ulcer disease. The use of cimetidine in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum has been reported previously using a dose of 40 mg/kg/day, and has the advantage of being painless and easy to administer, especially for recurrent, extensive, facial and eyelid lesions.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of high dose cimetidine therapy for molluscum contagiosum.
METHODS
Twenty patients with molluscum contagiosum were treated using high dose cimetidine therapy (14 females, 6 males; age range 2~16 years).
RESULTS
Of the 20 patients who completed the study, 12 patients (60%) showed complete remission, 3 patients (15%) showed partial remission and 5 patients (25%) showed no response. Five out of 8 patients with atopic dermatitis showed complete remission and one showed partial remission. Of the 12 patients without atopic dermatitis, 7 showed complete remission and 2 showed partial remission.
CONCLUSION
High dose cimetidine therapy is an effective treatment modality for molluscum contagiosum, and has no severe adverse effects.

Keyword

Cimetidine; High dose therapy; Molluscum contagiosum

MeSH Terms

Cimetidine*
Dermatitis, Atopic
Eyelids
Female
Humans
Male
Molluscum Contagiosum*
Peptic Ulcer
Receptors, Histamine
Cimetidine
Receptors, Histamine