Episode 262: 261. Are Combined Oral Contraceptives Effective for Treating Acne?

At ~24 weeks, ~80-90% of females report improvement in their acne with COCs, compared to 50-80% placebo, and 30-50% will have clear-almost clear skin versus 10-40% on placebo. Efficacy appears similar between individual COCs.

• Limitations: Most COC RCTs unblinded, many COC RCTs prohibited concurrent topical agents, no RCTS comparing COCs to topical agents, many industry-funded.

https://cfpclearn.ca/tfp362/