Efficacy and safety of Oral Azithromycin in the Treatment of Mild to Moderate Acne Vulgaris

Abstract Background:  Acne is a very common skin disorder in our society. Azithromycin, an oral macrolide, has been found to be a new treatment for this disease. Objective:   To assess the efficacy and safety of alter-nate day oral azithromycin 500 mg in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Design:  A quasi - experimental study. Place and Duration of Study:  The study was con-ducted at the Department of Dermatology, Unit - I, KEMU / Mayo Hospital, Lahore, during the six mon-ths period from 11 th April to 10 th October, 2009. Subjects and Methods:   One hundred and twenty patients of acne vulgaris were enrolled and baseline lesions were recorded. All patients were advised to take azithromycin 500 mg thrice a week orally for a period of 8 weeks after which they were followed up for the next 8 weeks at 2 weeks interval. The mean facial lesion count at baseline and after 8 weeks thera-py was performed in all the cases. The treatment was considered excellent if there was clearance of >80% of lesions, good at 50 - 80% clearance and poor if there was clearance of < 50% of lesions. The safety of treat-ment administered was assessed on the basis of local or systemic side effects of the drug. Results:   Out of 120 evaluable patients, there were 53 males and 67 females. Mean age of the patients was 21.2 ± 4.1 years. The mean facial lesion count after 8 weeks therapy was much reduced. The treatment reve-aled an excellent response in 79 (66%) patients, good in 31 (26%) and poor in 10 (8%) cases. Azithromycin was well tolerated by all the patients. Conclusion:   Azithromycin 500mg thrice weekly for 8 weeks is found to be an effective and safe treatment for acne vulgaris. Key Words:  Acne, vulgaris, azithromycin, macrolide.