Oral isotretinoin treatment in patients with acne vulgaris during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A retrospective cohort study in a tertiary care hospital

Demirel Öğüt, Neslihan; Kutlu, Ömer; Erbağcı, Ece

BACKGROUND: Patients with acne vulgaris continue to present increasingly in dermatology outpatient clinics and seek treatment during the COVID‐19 pandemic. As far as we know, the effect of isotretinoin on COVID‐19 has not been studied before. AIM: We aimed to evaluate whether patients receiving oral isotretinoin are at increased risk of COVID‐19 infection by comparing them with patients on topical treatment for acne vulgaris. METHODS: The data were collected retrospectively from a cohort of 267 acne vulgaris patients, who were under follow‐up for acne vulgaris treatment during the pandemic period. RESULTS: Total of 227 patients (141 receiving isotretinoin treatment and 86 receiving topical treatment) were included of whom 29 patients had COVID‐19 infection during acne vulgaris treatment. Fifteen (10.6%) patients were receiving oral isotretinoin and 14 (16.3%) were receiving topical acne treatment at the time of COVID‐19 infection. The mean cumulative dose was 2340 ± 1988 mg at the time of COVID‐19 infection. The mean elapsed time between the onset of isotretinoin treatment and positive PCR result for COVID‐19 was 13.3 ± 10.3 weeks. Nine patients (64.3%) receiving isotretinoin treatment and 9 patients (60%) under topical treatment had loss of taste and smell during COVID‐19 infection. Isotretinoin treatment was not found to be associated with a significant increased risk of getting COVID‐19 (odds ratio, 0.671; 95% confidence interval, 0.247–1.823; P = 0.434). CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, the results of this study encourage dermatologists and acne vulgaris patients to initiate oral isotretinoin treatment safely during the pandemic period.