New Guidelines for Acne Diagnosis and Management

The American Academy of Dermatology has published new guidelines for diagnosing and treating acne in adolescent and adult patients.

Acne is most common in adolescents, but adults and children also can experience it. The evidence-based guidelines aim to help dermatologists diagnose and manage patients of any age with acne vulgaris.
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To construct the guidelines, a committee of 20 experts analyzed 242 newly identified clinical questions from 2 online databases from May 2006 to September 2014.

Then the committee graded the evidence based on the quality of methodology and the overall focus of the evidence using a 3-point scale.

The guidelines contain recommendations on microbiologic and endocrinologic testing, topical therapies, systemic antibiotics, hormonal agents, isotretinoin, miscellaneous therapies and physical modalities, complementary or alternative therapies, and the role of diet in acne.

Overall, the committee found that combining 2 or more treatment options is best for most patients, and in-office procedures are not recommended for routine acne treatment. They also agree that more research is needed in the areas of alternative therapies, the role of diet in acne, and more.

“We have described…the significant progress that has been made in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of acne, but there are still large gaps in our knowledge base,” researchers concluded.

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Zaenglein AL, Pathy AL, Schlosser BJ, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris. J Am Acad Dermatol. Published online February 17, 2016. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037.