Clindamycin lotion alone versus combination lotion of clindamycin phosphate plus tretinoin versus combination lotion of clindamycin phosphate plus salicylic acid in the topical treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris: a randomized control trial.
BACKGROUND
Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease that affects 85% to 100% of people at some time during their lives. It is characterized by noninflammatory follicular papules or comedones and by inflammatory papules, pustules, and nodules in its more severe forms.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy of combination treatment of clindamycin+salicylic acid, versus clindamycin+tretinoin versus clindamycin alone in the treatment of the mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris.


METHODS
This was a single-blinded, randomized clinical trial.Forty-two female patients (age range: 15-25 years) with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris were selected randomly and subsequently randomized to 3 groups. Group A patients were treated with 1% clindamycin lotion (C lotion) twice daily. Group B patients were treated with 1% clindamycin+0.025% tretinoin lotion once nightly (CT lotion). Group C patients were treated with 1% clindamycin+2% salicylic acid lotion twice daily (CS lotion) for 12 weeks. For comparison of efficacy of these treatments, and regarding the skewed distribution of the data, Kruskal-Wallis Test and Mann-Whitney U test were used. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
There was a significant difference between 3 types of treatment in the respect of the total lesion count (TLC) improvement (P = 0.039). The efficacy of treatment on Acne Severity Index (ASI) was maximum for CS lotion (81.80% reduction in ASI). CT lotion reduced ASI by as much as 73.73% during 12 weeks of treatment. The efficacy of C lotion was calculated to be 37.87% in the reduction of ASI.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggested that the efficacy of CS lotion was significantly more than C lotion with respect to the TLC and ASI, although there was no significant difference between CS and CT lotion.
Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Medical Sciences/University of Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Ali
MA
NilFroushzadeh
Amir Hossein
AH
Siadat
Elahe Haft
EH
Baradaran
Shahram
S
Moradi
D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D000287:Administration, Topical; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002981:Clindamycin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
D004338:Drug Combinations; D002981:Clindamycin; D014212:Tretinoin; C007084:clindamycin phosphate; D020156:Salicylic Acid