Does early acne intervention provide more than just a reduction in the incidence of scars? A review of the literature

Abstract

Background: It is well established that early intervention in acne treatment reduces the incidence of scars. The purpose of this paper was to identify if early intervention in acne management also provides a cost benefit to the patient, reduces relapse rates or lessens the requirement for the treatment of acne scars. Method: A systematic search of The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) was performed independently by one reviewer using predefined criteria. Results: Seven articles were identified from the literature – one systematic review, one review article and five expert opinion articles. Although data supports early intervention in acne management, no articles identified whether a cost benefit was also provided, if there was a reduction in the relapse rates or if there was a decreased requirement for the treatment of acne scars. Conclusions: This review identifies an overall lack of published data regarding multiple outcomes for early intervention in acne and allows for the possible identification of areas where primary research would be beneficial.