Treatment of moderate acne vulgaris using a combined oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol 20 mug plus drospirenone 3mg administered in a 24/4 regimen: a pooled analysis.

Author(s): Koltun W, Maloney JM, Marr J, Kunz M

Affiliation(s): Medical Center for Clinical Research, San Diego, CA, USA.

Publication date & source: 2011-04, Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol., 155(2):171-5. Epub 2011 Feb 2.

Publication type: Clinical Trial, Phase III; Multicenter Study; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of an ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 mug/drospirenone (drsp) 3mg combined oral contraceptive (COC) administered in a 24/4 regimen (24 active tablets/4 inert tablets per cycle) for the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris, based on a pooled analysis of two identically designed US studies. STUDY DESIGN: Healthy females (n=893) aged 14-45 years with moderate facial acne were randomised to EE 20 mug/drsp 3mg COC (n=451) or placebo (n=442) for six cycles. Primary outcome measures were mean percent change in acne lesion counts and the investigators' assessment of acne from baseline to endpoint. RESULTS: There were significantly greater reductions in the mean percent change from baseline to endpoint in inflammatory, non-inflammatory and total lesion counts in the EE 20 mug/drsp 3mg 24/4 COC group compared with the placebo group (P<0.0001). The odds of women in the EE 20 mug/drsp 3mg 24/4 COC group having 'clear' or 'almost clear' skin as rated by the investigators at endpoint were around three-fold greater than in the placebo group (odds ratio 3.41; 95% CI: 2.15-5.43; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: A low-dose COC containing EE 20 mug/drsp 3mg (24/4) more effectively reduced acne lesions than placebo and demonstrated greater improvement in the investigator global assessment of acne. Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.