Antibiotics for Acne Vulgaris

Excerpt

After nearly 20 years of widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in the therapy of acne vulgaris another report on the efficacy of tetracycline has appeared. Like most of the more than 20 previous studies with tetracycline or other broad-spectrum antibiotics this most recent trial by Williamson and Lane (1) reports favorable results. Such results parallel clinical usage as shown by Schmitt (2) in a survey of 1,150 dermatologists in 1963; 87% practicing dermatologists used antibiotics, usually broad spectrum, as the most frequent nontopical agent. In view of the apparent acceptance of this therapeutic modality, one wonders why clinical trials attempting