COMPARISON OF MONTHLY PULSE OF ORAL AZITHROMYCIN WITH DAILY DOXYCYCLINE IN THE TREATMENT OF MODERATE ACNE VULGARIS

Objective: To compare oral Azithromycin with oral Doxycycline in treatment of moderate Acne Vulgaris. Study design: Randomized control trial Place and duration of the study: Dermatology Department , Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi from 1st August 2017 till 31st January 2018. Materials and methods: A total of 92 patients with moderate Acne were selected from Dermatology outpatient department (OPD) Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, after written informed consent. Patients were randomly allocated to one of the two treatment groups: Group A and Group B by lottery method. Patients in group A were given oral Azithromycin 500 mg daily for four consecutive days each month for 03 months and patients in group B were given oral Doxycycline 100 mg daily for 03 months. Patients were reviewed monthly for 03 months and Acne Severity Index (ASI) was recorded at baseline, at one month and three months. The primary outcome measured was more than 50% decrease from baseline in ASI within 3 months of treatment, using Global Acne Grading System (GAGS). Results: Mean age of patients in group A was 21.80 + 4.64 years whereas mean age of patients in group B was 21.61 + 4.48 years. In group A mean pre-treatment ASI was 24.83 + 3.15 and mean post-treatment ASI was 10.15 + 1.7. In group B mean pre-treatment ASI was 25.30 ± 2.96 and mean post-treatment ASI was 9.86 + 1.58. Conclusion: Azithromycin is comparable to Doxycycline in terms of mean change in ASI, in the treatment of moderate Acne Vulgaris.