The British journal of dermatology
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Adults with acne represent an increasingly important population of acne sufferers referred for treatment. Acne, in these patients, is generally mild or moderate in severity but tends to be resistant to conventional antibiotic therapy. A study was carried out to assess the efficacy of intermittent moderate dose isotretinoin as a treatment for acne. ⋯ Patients who relapsed also had a significantly higher total acne grade, lesion count (P < 0.0001) and sebum excretion rate (P < 0.001) compared with those whose acne resolved. This study suggests that intermittent moderate dose isotretinoin may be a cost-effective alternative to full dose isotretinoin in a carefully selected group of adult patients with-acne. Selection criteria should include predominantly facial acne, total acne grade less than 1, inflamed lesion count less than 20 and sebum excretion rate less than 1.25 micrograms/cm2 per min.