For the past two years we have been treating a group of 200 patients with severe acne with triacetyloleandomycin. Most of these have now been observed for a period of six months or more. We have made an attempt to answer the following questions:
Are we sure the results are due to the antibiotic rather than adjuvant topical measures, or the natural remissions of the disease?
Are we encouraging the emergence of resistant organisms, especially staphylococci?
Are there other possible sequelae to such long-term therapy with a broad-spectrum antibiotic?
How will long-term oleandomycin therapy for acne influence the response to the same antibiotic when used later in the management of systemic infection or furunculosis? Will it influence the incidence of these conditions in the treated patients?
We will try to answer these questions.
Plan of Study
The first 200 patients with severe acne, seen in a