A prospective randomised open labelled comparative study of anti inflammatory effects of topical 5% benzoyl peroxide gel vs topical 4% nicotinamide gel for grade I-II acne in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is a dermatological disorder characterised by formation of comedones and inflammatory lesions. The treatment of acne basically involves reduction of lesions. Benzoyl peroxide, in concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20%, has been used effectively in the treatment of acne for more than 20 years. Nicotinamide/ Niacinamide is a newly-approved anti-acne drug with a potent anti-inflammatory effect. The present study assessed the efficacy of 5% Benzoyl peroxide gel in comparison to 4% Nicotinamide gel for topical treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris.Methods: In this study, the patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris with inflammation were divided into two groups, group I was treated with topical 5% Benzoyl peroxide gel whereas topical Nicotinamide gel was given to the group II. Assessment of efficacy was done by total lesion counting according acne global severity index, the results were compared at the end of 2 weeks and 4 weeks with the baseline values.Results: At the end of this study, it was found that the reduction of inflammatory and total percentage of decrease in counts of lesions from baseline were highly significant in both the groups (p<0.001), between the groups, differences were statistically significant (p<0.001), therefore 5% Benzoyl peroxide gel has better efficacy than 4% Nicotinamide gel.Conclusions: Benzoyl peroxide is more efficacious than 4 % Nicotinamide gel in mild to moderate acne.