Comparison of Efficacy between Permethrin 5% Cream and Ivermectin 1% Cream in Combination with Oral Doxycycline in Treatment of Papulopustular Rosacea Patients

This study aimed to compare the impact of 5% permethrin cream combined with oral doxycycline with 1% ivermectin cream combined with oral doxycycline in treating patients with papulopustular rosacea.

This study was a single-blind clinical trial on papulopustular rosacea patients at Isfahan teaching hospitals. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: one receiving 5% permethrin cream with oral doxycycline and the other receiving 1% ivermectin cream with oral doxycycline. Inflammatory lesion count, IGA Score, and VAS Score were compared at 0, 6, and 12-week intervals.

All 40 patients involved in the study were female, with an average age of 42.53 ± 10.4 years. The findings revealed a significant decrease in the average number of inflammatory lesions over time in both treatment groups (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, there was no notable variance in the number of inflammatory lesions over time between the two groups (P = 0.098). Additionally, the average IGA Score in both treatment cohorts significantly reduced as time progressed (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant contrast in IGA Score changes over time between the two treatment groups (P = 0.129). Patient satisfaction levels did not differ significantly between the two groups (P = 0.635).

The results indicated that both treatments were effective in decreasing the disease severity, reducing inflammatory lesions, and lowering the IGA Score. Nevertheless, no substantial superiority of one treatment over the other was observed in this study.