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

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 alternate 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 conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Unit – I, KEMU / Mayo Hospital, Lahore, during the six months period from 11th April to 10th 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 KEMU / Mayo Hospital, Lahore 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 therapy 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 treatment 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 revealed 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