Transdermal rotigotine patch in Parkinson’s disease with a history of intestinal operation

A 42-year-old Japanese man with a history of small intestine resection and familial Mediterranean fever was referred to our hospital for a second opinion on parkinsonism. At the age of 35, the patient attended a hospital due to impaired left-hand movement and resting tremor. He was previously diagnosed with multiple system atrophy based on the lack of effectiveness of levodopa treatment. With suspicion of malabsorption due to his history of ileostomy, a levodopa challenge test with levodopa intravenous infusion was conducted, and revealed a 65% improvement in Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III. Therefore, diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was made and a transdermal rotigotine patch was selected as a treatment. This treatment dose-dependently improved the patient’s symptoms. The transdermal drug delivery should be considered when patients show dose failure due to malabsorption.