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MauiDerm 2015: Treating acne across age groups
Dermatologists at the Maui Derm 2015 meeting learned that they should be on the lookout for patients with acne, especially women. And, they should be cautious about antibiotic use in young patients.
Dermatologists at the Maui Derm 2015 meeting learned that they should be on the lookout for older patients with acne - especially women - and they should be especially cautious about antibiotic use in young patients.
“There is increased recognition that there’s a significant amount of acne across the various ages,” says Lawrence Eichenfield, M.D., chief of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, and professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who spoke about acne issues. “We don’t know if it’s different than in the past since we don’t have prior epidemiologic data.”
Dermatologists use many of the same tools to treat acne in older patients as in younger patients, he says, but the tiered regimens may be different and the treatments must often take cosmetics into account. Drug risks regarding pregnancy are also a concern for older female patients, he says, although they’re an issue for older girls too.
It’s important for dermatologists to be careful about prescribing antibiotics because of antibiotic resistance, Dr. Eichenfield told Dermatology Times. Research has shown that physicians overuse antibiotics as a treatment for acne in children and underuse topical treatments, he says.
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The filler Bellafill, newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of acne scars, is a valuable extra tool. “It will bring more attention to the surgical and laser techniques that can help deeper icepick or more dystrophic scarring,” he says.
With regard to side effects, there’s a low rate of granuloma formation, he says, “most of which resolves with time, but not all.”
Meanwhile, dermatologists can look forward to a new strength of the benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin dual therapy that should help patients with mild-to-moderate acne as a single therapy, he says. It can also be used to treat moderate-to-severe acne as part of a combination approach, he says.
