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Pulse Therapy With Azithromycin Effectively Treats Acne: Presented at AAD

By Bruce Sylvester

WASHINGTON, DC -- February 16, 2004 -- Pulse therapy with azithromycin is efficacious and safe for the treatment of acne, Italian researchers reported on February 8^th here at the American Academy of Dermatology 62^nd Annual Meeting.

"On the basis of these results, azithromycin had the desired effects in a percentage of patients ranging from 75% to 80% (e.g., the same or even more [than] the percentage reached by… the use of other oral antibiotics)," the investigators reported.

The study was open-label, and enrolled 65 Caucasian subjects in 2 groups.

In Group 1, 40 young men and women, aged 18-25 years, diagnosed with papulopustolar acne underwent oral azithromycin therapy at 500mg/day administered after the evening meal for 3 consecutive days over a course of 4 weeks. In Group 2, 25 young men and women, aged 18-25, diagnosed with papulopustolar acne, underwent the same treatment regimen for 6 weeks. The pharmacokinetics of the drug determined the scheduling of treatment. Subjects were not allowed to concurrently use any other topical or systemic drugs.

The investigators recorded the number of inflammatory lesions appearing before and after the course of treatment. A "good/excellent" result was deemed as greater than or equal to 50%; a "moderate" result was 20-50%; and >20% was deemed as "no result."

For Group 1, the researchers reported good/excellent results for 40% of subjects, moderate results for 35%, and no result for 25%. "On the whole, a partial or complete remission was observed in 75%," the researchers wrote.

For Group 2, the researchers reported good/excellent results for 56% of subjects, moderate results for 24%, and no result for 20%. "On the whole, a partial or complete remission was observed in 80% of patients. We had, with the 6-week regimen, an improvement of the percentage of positive results, from 75% to 80%," the investigators wrote.

As for adverse events, the researchers reported that 6 patients developed gastralgia and 1 left the trial. "No other side effects were reported or observed," it was noted.

The authors summarised the advantages of the treatment, and of the pulse regimen, noting that, "The pulse regimen significantly increases [a] patient's compliance, because of the reduced total number of administrations of the drug; furthermore, it is well accepted by younger patients' parents. The drug is not phototoxic; therefore, it may be used with safety…in summertime. No cases of P. acnes resistance have been up to now recorded in [the] literature."

The researchers also highlighted the good tolerability of the treatment.

They concluded that a "controlled clinical study is necessary to confirm these results."

Azithromycin is approved in the United States for the treatment of mild to moderate infections caused by susceptible strains of the designated micro-organisms in specifically designated conditions.


[Study Title: Pulse Therapy With Azithromycin In Acne: An Open Study. Abstract 41]

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