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Efficacy and tolerance of acne treatment using both spironolactone and a combined contraceptive containing
Aleksandar Krunic1, Ana Ciurea, Andrew Scheman
1Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA. sasakrun@hotmail.com
Background:
The use of either oral contraceptives or antiandrogens has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of women with acne.
Objectives:
We investigated the safety and efficacy of acne treatment using both spironolactone and a combined contraceptive containing drospirenone.
Methods:
Twenty-seven women with either severe papular or nodulocystic facial acne were treated with a combined oral contraceptive containing 30 mug ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg drospirenone (EE/DRSP; Yasmin) and spironolactone (SL) 100 mg taken daily. A serum potassium level was obtained before initiation of therapy. Between 4 and 6 weeks after the start of both medications, a second serum potassium level was obtained. Side effects were recorded.
Results:
No significant elevation of serum potassium was found in any of the subjects nor were there any reported additional side effects significant enough to discontinue treatment. At follow up, 85% of subjects were entirely clear of acne lesions or had excellent improvement, 7.4% were mildly improved, and 7.4% were not improved.
Limitations:
This was a small prospective study.
Conclusion:
The combination of EE/DRSP and SL 100 mg daily appears to have efficacy and is well tolerated in the treatment of severe papular and nodulocystic acne in women.
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