You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
DTB select
Comparative efficacy of acne treatments

https://doi.org/10.1136/dtb.2024.000044

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Key learning points

    • Acne is a common disease with significant effects on quality of life.

    • A network meta-analysis found that oral isotretinoin was the most effective treatment, followed by combination treatments that included benzoyl peroxide, a topical retinoid with an oral or topical antibiotic.

    • Combination therapies were more effective than monotherapies and combined oral contraceptives had variable efficacy.

    A comparative efficacy network meta-analysis suggests that oral isotretinoin or combination treatments that included a topical retinoid are the most effective options for treating acne.1

    Overview

    This network meta-analysis included randomised controlled trials comparing the efficacy of pharmacological treatments for acne with a treatment duration >2 weeks.1 Studies were included if they reported the percentage or absolute decrease in total inflammatory or non-inflammatory lesions, or the proportion of participants achieving treatment success defined by the Investigator’s Global Assessment. The primary outcomes were mean percentage reduction in total, inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions.

    A total of 221 trials (65 601 participants) covering 37 interventions were …

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors DTB Team.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.