Topical, Light-Based, and Complementary Interventions for Acne: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

October 2024 in “ Cochrane library ”

Yi Yuan, Yiying Wang, Jun Xia, Бо Лю, Jianping Liu, Duoduo Li, Ruiting Wang, Hong Sang, Huijuan Cao

benzoyl peroxide topical retinoids topical antibiotics acne vulgaris acne scars acne

TLDR No high-certainty evidence supports any specific acne treatment.

This overview of systematic reviews evaluates the efficacy and safety of non-systemic pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for acne vulgaris and related skin complications. The analysis included six reviews with low risk of bias, involving 40,910 people with acne and 1,316 with acne scars. The evidence for benzoyl peroxide, compared to placebo, topical retinoids, and topical antibiotics, is very uncertain, with no high-certainty evidence found for any therapy. The reviews highlight limitations in the methodological quality of existing studies, and insufficient high-quality systematic reviews for topical retinoids and antibiotics. The authors suggest future research should focus on pooled data analysis for new acne treatments and complications.

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