Photographic Evaluation of 15% Azelaic Acid Gel in Acne Rosacea

Objective: Acne rosacea is a difficult to treat disease and current treatments remain unsatisfactory. Our aim was to assess and present the photographic evaluation of the effectiveness and tolerability of azelaic acid 15 % gel for the treatment of acne rosacea. Methods: Healthy male and female adult outpatients (>18 years of age) with mild to moderate acne rosacea. All patients were instructed to apply azelaic acid 15% gel to entire affected area twice daily for 4 weeks. Primary efficacy endpoints in the study included changes from baseline to the last visit (4th week) in the severity of lesions on a 4-point scale. Both patients and investigators rated the overall improvement at the end of the study. Results: All 31 patients completed the study. The investigator assessment of rosacea revealed that azelaic acid 15% gel resulted in a statistically significant decrease in facial erythema (p=0.001) while no statistically significant change was observed with regard to changes in inflammatory lesions and telangiectasia (p>0.05). Most of the patients (58%) rated the outcome of the treatment as “moderately” to “very satisfactory”. With regard to investigators’ evaluation scores, 29% (n=9) of patients showed marked improvement or clearance. Conclusion: Azelaic acid 15% gel is an effective and safe treatment for mild to moderate acne rosacea when used twice daily in combination with sunscreens.