Efficacy of Azithromycin and Doxycycline in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris- A Single Center Study in Bangladesh

Background: Acne vulgaris is a very common skin disease which is seen primarily in adolescents and young adults. For cost-effectiveness and tradition, doxycycline has been used in treating acne vulgaris for a long period of time. On the other hand, it is assumed that as azithromycin poses a long half-life so it is more effective than any other antibiotic in treating acne vulgaris. But we have very little comparative data regarding this issue. Aim of the Study: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of azithromycin with doxycycline in treating acne vulgaris. Methods: This prospective, comparative study was conducted in Department of Skin & Venereology, Joypurhat District Hospital, Bangladesh, during the period from July 2020 to June 2021. A total of 110 patients with moderate-to-moderately severe (Grade II and III), acne vulgaris were finalized as the study population and divided into two groups. Patients of Group A were given azithromycin 500 mg three times a week as pulse therapy along with 0.05% topical tretinoin for one month and the patients of Group B were given doxycycline 100mg once daily along with 0.05% topical tretinoin for one month. Results: In this study, after 1 month of treatment, in Group A among 33(60.0%) and 22(40.0%) participants we found mild and moderate non-inflammatory lesions respectively which were found in 35(63.6%) and 20(36.4%) cases respectively in Group B and we found a significant correlation (P=0.004). Besides these, after 1 month of treatment, in Group A among 35(63.6%) and 19(34.6%) participants, we found mild and moderate inflammatory lesions respectively which were found in 33(60.0%) and 21(38.2%) cases respectively in Group B and we found a significant correlation (P=0.004) also. But at the same time, in analyzing the frequencies of ‘total lesions’ between the groups we found an extremely significant correlation where the P value was found as <0.001. Conclusion: Although, for eradicating non- inflammatory lesions, ....