Efficacy and Tolerability of Methotrexate in the Treatment of Severe Paediatric Alopecia Areata

INTRODUCTION: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, autoimmune condition affecting hair follicles, and its occurrence in the paediatric population is associated with poorer prognosis and limited treatment options compared to adults. Treatment with oral methotrexate (MTX) has been documented in adults, but there is a paucity of data for its use in the paediatric population. We aimed to study the efficacy and tolerability of MTX in severe paediatric AA.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective review on paediatric patients with severe AA who were treated with MTX in our centre from January 2019 to December 2020.

RESULTS: Thirteen patients were included (6 boys and 7 girls) aged between 4 and 16 years at the initiation of MTX (mean age of 8.8 years). The interval from diagnosis of AA to commencement of MTX was between 8 months and 9 years (mean duration of 3.3 years). Oral MTX was administered once weekly with a mean maximal dose of 0.4 mg/kg/dose. Out of 12 assessable patients, 5 were considered treatment success as they had more than 50% regrowth, while the other 7 were treatment failures. No serious side effects were reported.

CONCLUSION: MTX was shown to have variable efficacy for the treatment of paediatric AA with overall good tolerability. MTX can be considered in the treatment of severe refractory AA for children.