Efficacy of Mupirocin and Rifampin Used with Standard Treatment in the Management of Acne Vulgaris

The multiple etiologic factors involved in acne make the use of various medications necessary to treat the condition. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of mupirocin and rifampin used with standard treatment in the management of acne vulgaris. In a multicentre, randomized controlled, triple-blinded study, a total of 105 acne patients, with a clinical diagnosis of moderate to severe acne, were randomizedly divided into three groups (35 per group), for treatment of acne. The first group was treated with standard treatment alone, the second group received mupirocin plus standard treatment and the third group received rifampin plus standard treatment. There were three study visits according to Global Acne Grading System (GAGS): at baseline and weeks 6 and 12. The absolute changes of GAGS score from baseline to week 6 and 12 demonstrated a reduction in the mean score of GAGS in the three treatment groups (p < 0.001). Due to the difference between GAGS score at the baseline of study, the data were adjusted using the general linear model. The findings showed that all of the treatments significantly improved acne lesions. Nevertheless, none of the treatments was shown to be more effective than the others (p = 0.9). The three treatments were well tolerated, and no serious adverse events were reported. These findings provide evidence on the efficacy of combining mupirocin and rifampin with standard treatment in the management of acne vulgaris, although none of the treatments had superior efficacy compared with the others.