Effects of isotretinoin on the olfactory function in patients with acne

Isotretinoin is a synthetic analog of vitamin A. Recent studies support a role for retinoic acid in the recovery of olfactory function following injury in mice.

This study aimed at determining the effect of isotretinoin on olfactory function in patients who have acne and are otherwise healthy.

Forty-five patients (aged 25-40 years) with acne were included in the study. All patients underwent a rhinological examination. Olfactory function was assessed by the Sniffin' Sticks Test. The test was assessed at baseline and in the third month of isotretinoin treatment.

Isotretinoin improved the performance of patients in the olfactory test. The SST score increased from 8.7±1.09 to 9.5±1.19 (p<0.001), prevalence of hyposmia decreased from 40% to 24% and normosmia increased from 60% to 75% (p=0.059). The percentage of patients whose olfactory function was categorized as "good" increased from 6% to 21.3%. This increase was statistically significant (p<0.05).

Absence of a control group is one of the limitations of this study. Also, we did not evaluate patients with smell test after stopping isotretinoin treatment.

We examined the effect of systemic isotretinoin on olfactory function. It can be concluded from the present investigation that isotretinoin therapy improves the sense of smell.