Role of Montelukast in the Management of Moderate Inflammatory Acne

Objective: To study the efficacy of montelukast as an adjunct in the treatment of moderate inflammatory acne. Study Design: Quasi experimental Study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Apr to Oct 2023. Methodology: This study was conducted on 150 patients with acne who needed systemic therapy. Group A (n=75) received 100 mg doxycycline daily plus placebo and the group B (n=75) received 100 mg daily doxycycline plus 10mg daily montelukast. Both groups also received topical benzoyl peroxide 4% every other night. The patients were evaluated for treatment efficacy by lesion count, Investigator Global Assessment, Global Acne Grading System, and Cardiff Acne Disability Index scoring systems after 12 weeks of intervention. Results: The study included 150 patients with acne divided into two groups Group A 75(50%) and Group B 75(50%). All 150 patients included in the study showed improvement with the interventions. Individuals from Group B showed significantly superior reduction in the inflammatory as well as non-inflammatory lesion count (p-value <0.001). The decrease in Investigator Global Assessment, Global Acne Grading System, and Cardiff Acne Disability Index scores was also significant (all p-values<0.001) in comparison with group A. Conclusion: Montelukast can be used as an adjuvant therapy along with other treatments of acne, especially for inflammatory variant.