Contrastive observation on the efficacy of facial seborrheic dermatitis treated with 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment and 1％ hydrocortisone ointment

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of facial seborrheic dermatitis treated with 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment and 1％ hydrocortisone ointment.Methods Seventy patients with facial seborrheic dermatitis were enrolled in a 12-week study.The patients were divided into tacrolimus group (34cases) and hydrocortisone group (36 cases) by table of random digit method,the 2 groups were treated with 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment or 1％ hydrocortisone ointment applied twice daily to symptomatic regions of the face.The skin injury score,drug residue,patient satisfaction,efficacy and adverse event were followed up after treatment of 4,8,12 weeks.Results The skin injury score in 2 groups after treatment of 4,8,12 weeks was significant lower than that before treatment [tacrolimus group:(1.81 ± 1.77),(0.81 ± 0.35),(0.07 ±0.26) scores vs.(14.81 ±2.52) scores,and hydrocortisone group:(2.01 ± 1.58),(0.91 ±0.46),(0.08 ±0.28) scores vs.(16.42 ± 2.15) scores,P ＜ 0.05],but there was no significant difference between 2 groups (P ＞0.05).There was no significant difference in effective rate between 2 groups (P ＞0.05).The drug residue of tacrolimus group was significantly more than that of hydrocortisone group (P ＜ 0.05).There was no severe adverse event in 2 groups.The patient satisfaction in tacrolimus group after treatment of 4,8,12 weeks was significantly higher than that in hydrocortisone group [88.2％ (30/34) vs.69.4％ (25/36),91.2％ (31/34)vs.83.3％ (30/36),97.1％ (33/34) vs.80.6％ (29/36),P ＜0.05].Conclusion The 0.1％ tacrolimus ointment requires significantly fewer applications compared with 1％ hydrocortisone ointment to achieve a comparable clinical response with facial seborrheic dermatitis. Key words: Dermatitis,seborrheic;  Hydrocortisone;  Tacrolimus