Comparative study on the drug effects and adverse reactions of doxycycline and isotretinoin in the treatment of moderate to severe acne

To compare the drug effects and adverse reactions of doxycycline and isotretinoin in patients with moderate to severe acne. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 98 patients with moderate to severe acne who were treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2020 to June 2023. They were divided into group A and group B based on actual medication use, with 49 cases in each group. Group A was treated with doxycycline and group B was treated with isotretinoin. The drug treatment effects, skin erythema index (EI), sebum secretion, skin lesion tissue cytokines and adverse drug reactions before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. The total effective rate of treatment in group B was 89.8%, which was higher than that in group A, 75.5% (P<0.05). After treatment, the values of EI, sebum secretion and cytokines in skin lesions in group B were all lower than those in group A (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse drug reactions between the two groups. Isotretinoin is effective in treating moderate to severe acne. It can effectively reduce skin erythema, sebum secretion, and cytokines in damaged skin tissue. The drug is highly safe and worthy of drug recommendation.