Trifarotene plus doxycycline efficacious in severe acne treatment
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BOSTON — A rapid improvement in severe acne was observed in patients treated with 12 weeks of trifarotene and doxycycline, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
“Both the physical and psychological impact of acne increase with increasing disease severity,” James Del Rosso, DO, of JDR Dermatology in Las Vegas, and colleagues wrote. “Approximately 12% of adolescents and 20% of adults develop severe acne. Current practice guidelines recommend a combination therapy of topical treatment and an oral antibiotic or oral isotretinoin for severe acne.”
This double-blind, 12-week study randomly assigned patients 2:1 to receive trifarotene cream 50 µg/g plus enteric-coated doxycycline 120 mg (T+D) or vehicle cream.
After 12 weeks of treatment, 31.7% of those in the T+D group had an Investigator Global Assessment score of 0 or 1, with an improvement of at least 2 grades, compared with 15.8% of those in the vehicle group.
Lesion counts were significantly reduced in the study group with a mean change of –69.1 in the study group.
In addition, the treatment was well tolerated with adverse events comparable to those treated with placebo.
“In severe IGA patients, 12 weeks of treatment with trifarotene in association with doxycycline demonstrated rapid and clinically relevant improvement in acne,” the authors wrote.