Drug-resistant Bacteria Shifting the Treatment of Acne

Posted: April 17, 2009

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Fewer dermatologists now rely on antibiotics alone to treat acne. A recent University of Pennsylvania study found that people on antibiotics were about twice as likely to develop an upper respiratory tract infection. And a study Fleischer co-authored in 2005 found a significant shift from dermatologists prescribing antibiotic to non-antibiotic treatments.

When Fleishcher started his practice 20 years ago, erythromycin was the treatment he most commonly prescribed. “Now maybe I have one patient on it, maybe. [Acne] is not a life-threatening situation; it is a quality of life situation. Using drugs that don’t display drug resistance will allow us to make patients look and feel better,” he says.

By Melissa Dah, MSNBC.com, April 13, 2009