The Use of Diphencyprone in Dermatology: A Retrospective Audit

The document reports on a retrospective audit of the use of diphencyprone (DPC) in a dermatology department, analyzing 28 patient records from January 1999 to December 2001. The patients, 22 females and 6 males with a mean age of onset of 31.8 years, were diagnosed with various forms of alopecia and one case of viral warts. The audit assessed adherence to a treatment protocol from another hospital, which included baseline blood investigations, written consent, discussion of side effects, delivery of information chart to patients, and pregnancy tests for female patients. The findings showed that these protocol steps were infrequently documented: blood studies in 3 cases, written consent in 6, side effects discussion in 4, information chart delivery in 4, and pregnancy test in 1 of 22 females. Treatment response varied, with no terminal hair re-growth in 11 cases, partial re-growth in 11 cases, complete re-growth in 2 cases, no recorded response in 3 cases, and resolution of warts in 1 case. The conclusion was that despite the lack of strict adherence to the protocol, no harm was reported in patients, suggesting that the extensive protocols could be simplified. The study also indicated the need for published guidelines for the use of DPC in dermatology.