Topical Tretinoin for Photoaged Skin

Abstract

To the Editor. —I read with interest the article by Weiss et al 1 entitled Topical Tretinoin Improves Photoaged Skin. The Results section of this study notes that 40 patients entered the study, but data are presented for only 30 patients. Ten patients apparently withdrew because of severe induced dermatitis or for personal reasons. The authors reported dermatitis as the only adverse reaction in 92% of the patients. Since it is possible that this dermatitis, which in some cases was severe, could be associated with a systemic absorption of tretinoin, I would like to know if drug absorption studies were done by Weiss et al and if any changes were noted in results of renal function tests, such as creatinine level and urinalysis, in the 40 patients. Report of a Case. —A 63-year-old man was referred for evaluation of abnormal creatinine clearance (1.23 mL/s [74 mL/min/m 2 ]) and an increased