Treatment Adherence in Patients With Acne Vulgaris: A Narrative Review

Acne vulgaris is a common dermatologic condition often requiring treatment using multiple mechanisms of action over a long time course to adequately clear symptoms. However, adherence to acne treatment is poor, preventing many patients from achieving their treatment goals.

This narrative review provides an overview of reported adherence rates across different acne medications, major factors that influence adherence, and potential strategies to improve treatment compliance.

Reported adherence rates range widely depending on study design, treatment modality, and target population. Adherence to acne treatments is largely affected by patients' perceived lack of efficacy, complex treatment regimens, and tolerability to treatment. Adherence may improve with the development of rapid-acting medications, combination therapies to simplify treatment regimens, and therapeutics with minimal tolerability issues. Patient education to set expectations of the long treatment time course and strategies to alleviate common adverse events may improve treatment compliance.

Poor adherence is a major barrier to treating acne, leading to negative impacts on patient outcomes. To improve adherence, physicians should address barriers through careful treatment selection and patient education.  .