title: A comparison of triple combination cream and hydroquinone 4% cream for the treatment of moderate to severe facial melasma.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of a triple combination (TC) cream and monotherapy with hydroquinone (HQ) cream in the treatment of moderate to severe facial melasma. A total of 120 patients applied TC cream once daily or HQ cream twice daily for 8 weeks. Evaluations included static global severity assessment of melasma, improvement of melasma over time, local tolerability, and adverse events. TC cream was significantly more effective than HQ cream from week 4 onwards: lesions were approximately equivalent to the surrounding skin in 35% of all TC-treated patients, compared to 5% of those who used HQ cream (P = 0.0001). Improvement of more than 75% was achieved by 73% of TC cream patients and 49% of HQ cream patients (P = 0.007). The incidence of adverse events (erythema, burning sensation, and desquamation) was similar in both groups. No patient dropped out of the study because of drug-related adverse events. TC cream was more effective than the HQ cream for the treatment of moderate to severe facial melasma. Both products had similar safety profiles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul--Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. tcestari@hcpa.ufrgs.br
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferreira Cestari
authors.forename: Karime
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hassun
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sittart
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Lourdes Viegas
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000328:Adult; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004643:Emollients; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006873:Hydroquinones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008548:Melanosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D004643:Emollients; D006873:Hydroquinones; D005446:Fluocinolone Acetonide; D014212:Tretinoin; C031927:hydroquinone