Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

A Proposed Set of New Guidelines for Routine Blood Tests during Isotretinoin Therapy for Acne vulgaris

2002; Karger Publishers; Volume: 204; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1159/000057887

1421-9832

Rachel Altman, Lawrence J. Altman, JEFFREY S. ALTMAN,

Pharmacological Effects of Natural Compounds

Isotretinoin has been proven to be an effective treatment for acne vulgaris. The enclosed package insert with isotretinoin suggests weekly/biweekly laboratory testing (hepatic functions and lipid analysis) but fails to recommend the needed action levels for abnormalities.We provide a statistical analysis of a retrospective study of 141 individuals' course of therapy on isotretinoin and their laboratory blood analysis results.Very few statistically significant elevations in liver enzymes or lipid profiles occurred. More importantly, in only 1 case did these elevations warrant the discontinuation of therapy.The data presented here support the conclusion that limited blood testing should be performed for most patients and that more complete blood testing be done only for those patients with a significant response in liver enzymes, cholesterol or triglycerides. A set of guidelines is proposed for the practicing physician to interpret blood test results.