Zahra Arooba, Hira Tariq, Saelah Batool, Naila Tabassum, Shahbaz Aman.
Comparison of Efficacy of Oral Azithromycin Pulse versus Doxycycline Daily in Treatment of Moderate Acne Vulgaris.
Ann King Edward Med Uni Jan ;28(3):296-9.

Background: Acne is a very common skin disease in our setup. Azithromycin is a new treatment while Doxycycline has been routinely used for this disorder. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of azithromycin oral pulse versus doxycycline daily in treating acne vulgaris. Methods: A randomized control trail with 304 patients of moderate acne vulgaris were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: Group-A (n=152) received azithromycin, 500 mg daily for 3 days in 10 days` cycle with 7 days free of drug, for 3 months, while Group B (n=152) received doxycycline 100 mg daily for 3 months. They were followed at monthly intervals. Difference between numbers of lesions before and after treatment was calculated. Outcome was analysed as healing of acne lesions in terms of percentages as: Excellent (>80%), Good (51-80%), Poor (31-50%) and No response (<30%) at the end of 3 months. Results: In group-A, 35(23.0%) patients had excellent outcome, 37(24.3%) had good, 33(21.7%) had poor and 47(31%) had no response. In group-B, 74(48.7%) patients had excellent response, 42(27.6%) had good, 34(22.4%) had poor and 2(1.3%) had no response with a p-value 0.000001, which was statistically significant. Conclusion: Doxycycline is more effective oral treatment for acne vulgaris.

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