Gluteal Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Analysis of 83 Patients

Abstract

Background: In 2013, Canoui-Poitrine et al. identified three hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) phenotypes by a latent class (LC) analysis, based on anatomical sites of involvement. Objective: To improve the classification of the gluteal phenotype (LC3) patients given their diverse lesion types and differences in clinical profile. Material and methods: We designed a bicentric study gathering all LC3 patients (n = 83) from two hospitals. We conducted a two-step cluster analysis among them and also compared their characteristics with the rest of the HS patients (n = 661). Results: Compared with global HS series, LC3 patients were more frequently non-obese men, with smoking habit, an associated arthropathy, and a more frequent history of pilonidal sinus. The analysis of LC3 patients yielded two clusters: cluster 1 (38.3%) included elderly female patients, with later diagnosis of the disease and more sinus tracts; cluster 2 (61.7%) encompassed more men with earlier disease onset and more nodules and folliculitis lesions. Limitations: The study's limitations include its retrospective nature, bicentric design, and small sample size. Conclusion: The heterogeneous clinical presentation of HS makes it essential to have a good classification of the patients. Gluteal phenotype could actually be classified into two subphenotypes with a different clinical profiles and management.