Systemic corticosteroids for the outpatient treatment of necrobiosis lipoidica in a diabetic patient

Necrobiosis lipoidica (NL) remains a major therapeutic challenge for the dermatologist and diabetologist. Amongst many treatment modalities attempted, systemic corticosteroids remain controversial, not least because a proportion of NL patients are diabetic, and corticosteroids are likely to destabilize their diabetic control. Close supervision as an inpatient is often required. We report the ambulatory outpatient management of an insulin-dependent diabetic with ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica complicated by activated protein C resistance.