Review: Oral Isotretinoin Is the Best Treatment for Acne
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, July 27, 2023 -- The most effective treatment for acne is oral isotretinoin, according to a review published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Chung-Yen Huang, M.D., from the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of pharmacological therapies for acne vulgaris in patients of any age and sex and with a treatment duration of two or more weeks.
Based on 221 included trials (37 interventions and 65,601 patients), the researchers found the most effective treatment was oral isotretinoin (mean difference, 48.41), followed by triple therapy containing a topical antibiotic, a topical retinoid, and benzoyl peroxide (mean difference, 38.15) and by triple therapy containing an oral antibiotic, a topical retinoid, and benzoyl peroxide (mean difference, 34.83). Oral or topical antibiotics or topical retinoids, as monotherapies, have comparable efficacy for inflammatory lesions. However, oral or topical antibiotics have less effect on noninflammatory lesions.
"Acne is an extremely common skin disease with an estimated global prevalence of 9.4 percent and an annual cost of 3 billion dollars in the United States. Measured by disability-adjusted life years, the global burden from acne is ranked the second highest among all cutaneous diseases worldwide," the authors write. "Our study provides the most comprehensive evidence to date about common pharmacological interventions for acne vulgaris with analyses of both percentage and absolute reduction in lesion counts and detailed comparisons for each intervention."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2023
Read this next
Study Identifies Factors That Affect Antibiotic Prescribing for Acne
WEDNESDAY, April 10, 2024 -- Multiple salient factors affect long-term antibiotic prescribing practices for acne, according to a study published online April 3 in JAMA...
AAD: Adult Acne Clinic Visits Increase With Exposure to Wildfire-Related Air Pollution
FRIDAY, March 15, 2024 -- Short-term exposure to wildfire-related air pollution is associated with an increase in clinic visits for acne vulgaris among adults, according to a...
AAD Updates Guidelines for Management of Acne Vulgaris
MONDAY, Feb. 5, 2024 -- In guidelines issued by the American Academy of Dermatology and published online Jan. 30 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, updated...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.