The Use of Hormonal Antiandrogen Therapy in Female Patients with Acne: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

In the 10-year retrospective study of 672 female patients at an academic medical center, hormonal antiandrogen acne treatment (HAAT), including combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and spironolactone, was found to be underutilized as a first-line therapy for acne, with antibiotics being the most common initial treatment. The study revealed that patients who started HAAT at the study site had a longer mean antibiotic duration (250.4 days) compared to those who were already on HAAT before the study (192.0 days), showing a significant inverse relationship between HAAT use and antibiotic duration (p = 0.016). Overall, HAAT was associated with a shorter cumulative antibiotic duration (225.5 days) compared to the control group (302.6 days), suggesting that HAAT can reduce antibiotic use in acne treatment and should be considered for earlier initiation to support antibiotic stewardship.