Clinical Application and Efficacy of Tazarotene Cream for Acne Vulgaris

OBJECTIVE:To provide optimal therapeutic scheme for patients with acne vulgaris. METHODS: By a single-blind randomized controlled method,a total of 122 patients with acne vulgaris were assigned to one of the following 3 groups: tazarotene cream group(n=42),Water chlorine tincture group(n=38) and combined treatment group(n=42). The curative efficacy was observed after treatment for 8 consecutive weeks. RESULTS: The number of skin lesions in all the 3 groups reduced as the course of treatment increased,and there were significant differences across the 3 groups after 8-week treatment as compared with before treatment (P0.05 or P0.01). After 8-week treatment,there were significant differences in responsive rate between tazarotene group and water chlorine tincture group(χ2=17.629,P0.05) and between combined group and water chlorine tincture group(χ2=15.532,P0.05),but no significant differences were noted between tazarotene group and combined group(χ2=10.130,P0.05). CONCLUSION: Tazarotene cream is effective for non-inflammatory acne. The superior efficacy of water chlorine tincture as compared with tazarotene for patients with impetigo might be related to the antibacterial action of chloramphenicol. Tazarotene cream combined with local application of 0.5% water chlorine tincture is effective for inflammatory acne.