Is systemic isotretinoin use a risk factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?

To investigate whether acne treatment agent systemic isotretinoin causes susceptibility to COVID-19 disease.

Patients admitted to a single center due to acne between March 2020 and December 2020 were included. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical records of acne patients receiving systemic isotretinoin or topical treatments. The patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were recorded.

302 patients who used isotretinoin and 329 patients who used topical treatment were included in the study. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of age (p = 0.151). It was found that of the 302 patients who used isotretinoin, 33 had PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 and two of these had PCR positivity, while of the 329 patients who received topical treatment, 45 had PCR test and five of these had PCR positivity. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of having SARS-CoV-2 positivity with PCR (p = 0.692).

Susceptibility to COVID-19 disease was not observed in patients using systemic isotretinoin.