Abstract
Acitretin was introduced as a replacement for etretinate, the ethyl ester of acitretin. Acitretin is eliminated at a much faster rate than etretinate. Although both drugs are teratogens, the replacement was important especially as it allowed for a much shorter post-medication period in which pregnancy should be precluded. Recent findings showed the presence of etretinate in the plasma of acitretin-treated patients. This article gives a review of known metabolic pathways of the retinoids and tries to elucidate the possible conversion of acitretin into etretinate after acitretin ingestion.
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Bouvy, M.L., Sturkenboom, M.C.J.M., Cornel, M.C. et al. Acitretin (Neotigason®). Pharmaceutisch Weekblad Scientific Edition 14, 33–37 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01980479
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01980479