Turpentine Ointment for the Treatment of Folliculitis: An Open, Prospective, Randomized, Placebo- and Comparator-Controlled Multicenter Trial

The study investigated the efficacy and safety of a turpentine ointment for treating acute folliculitis in 70 outpatients. Participants were randomly assigned to receive turpentine ointment, povidone iodine solution, or a placebo for 7 days. While the reduction in follicle lesions was not statistically significant due to data variance and small sample size, the turpentine ointment showed significant superiority over placebo in lesion evolution, responder rate, and patient efficacy assessments. All treatments were well tolerated with similar adverse event rates. The study concluded that turpentine ointment is an effective, safe, and cost-effective option for treating mild bacterial folliculitis, despite limitations such as short duration and potential bias from the open study design.