Clinical and Dermoscopic evaluation of post acne erythema after treatment with topical timolol maleate 0.5%

Abstract

Background and objectives: A common consequence of acne inflammation is called post-acne erythema, which describes telangiectasia and erythematous lesions that persist even after acne treatment, although some post-acne erythema lesions may become better with time. For some patients, having prolonged post-acne erythema might not be acceptable. Many studies have assessed the effectiveness of various post-acne erythema therapeutic approaches; however, there is no standard treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of topical timolol maleate 0.5% in the treatment of post-acne erythema clinically and by dermoscopy. Methods: A randomized therapeutic clinical trial conducted in Sulaimanyah city-Kurdistan region over a period from March to September of 2022.Thirty patients (24 female and 6 male) with persistent post-acne erythema were enrolled in this study. Treatments with timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution: apply 3-5 drops of timolol over the affected area every night at bedtime for 12 weeks. Our objectives were patient satisfaction, dermoscopy-assessed erythema assessment, and physician-reported clinical improvement. Result: After 12 weeks of treatment, there were no patients with severe erythema, clinically and statistically; there was a marked decline in the mean clinician erythema score and its standard deviation from 2.7± 0.98 to 1.0 ± 1.0 Also by dermoscopy-assessed erythema assessment, there was a substantial decrease in the mean erythema score and its standard deviation from 2.0±0.72 to 0.70±0.70, no participants after therapy exhibited severe erythema by dermoscopy.so statistically there is significant reduction in erythema clinically and dermoscopically. Conclusion: The results of this study show that there was very good response of post-acne erythema lesions with no obvious side effects, further therapeutic clinical studies with larger sample size is needed.