How People Decide if Acne Treatment is Effective

-From 2016, articles commented in the Journal and Focus will be posted here (selection by Prof. JH Saurat M.D.)

How People Decide if Acne Treatment is Effective

Postby CFH » Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:22 pm

Prioritizing treatment outcomes: How people with acne vulgaris decide if their treatment is working.
Layton AM, Whitehouse H, Eady EA, Cowdell F, Warburton KL, Fenton M.
J Evid Based Med. 2017 Apr 26. doi: 10.1111/jebm.12249.

Goal: To measure what people consider an effective treatment for acne, 145 people with acne (PwA) took part, 897 answered the treatment was effective, and 742 fitted with possible outcomes:

-More than a third said that there were fewer spots.
-A fifth said it was less redness.
-Around one in seven said it was a reduction in spot size and around the same proportion said it was a reduction in pain/discomfort.

How did patients observe changes ?
-Looking at the skin was the most widely adopted way of assessing (16.3% of people) and Visual Signs were most considered. Symptoms were less used.
Quality of life was only infrequently mentioned

Comments:
1.objective measurements run in trials (lesion counts, severity) do not include measurements done by patients at a single point in time, which can include psychosocial well-being and mood. Further studies will need to take this into account.
2. The authors use the term “People with Acne (PwA)” as Acne affects not only patients; many manage themselves and never see a doctor.

Study from UK, a quarter of those who responded lived outside of the UK

CFH
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