ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although oral isotretinoin is an effective established therapy for acne, Korean data related with this therapy is very limited. Moreover, there is no published data available on the efficacy of this drug that uses a grading system suitable for Korean acne patients. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of oral isotretinoin (Roaccutane?) by using the Korean Acne Grading System (KAGS) and the general satisfaction of patients in treating acne. METHODS: In this multicenter and prospective clinical study, 499 patients with acne, who visited at 5 dermatologic clinics during 11 months, were enrolled. The drug dosage was 0.2~1.0 mg/kg/day over 4 months. The efficacy assessment was performed at baseline and monthly after, with an acne grading based on the KAGS and the patient satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS: Out of the 499 patients, 435 and 371 have completed the 3-month and 4-month treatments, respectively. After the 4-month treatment, the mean acne grades significantly decreased from 2.71 to 0.68, thus showing a 75.9% reduction in pretreatment scores. The mean patient satisfaction scores improved at the end of 4-month treatment, showing a 4.42 out of 5. CONCLUSION: In this paper, we describe the efficacy of oral isotretinoin by using the KAGS, which has not been previously reported in the Korean literature. Our results show that oral isotretinoin is an effective and satisfactory treatment modality for acnes of all grades in Korean patients, regardless of the dosage.