Tretinoin / working resource
Primary source desk
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What the labels say it is for
Tretinoin for acne and photoaged skin, with the evidence and its limits in plain view. What should I know about what the labels say tretinoin is for?
Open the Tretinoin library ↗A Cochrane review reports that eight trials showed topical tretinoin cream in concentrations of 0.02% or higher was superior to placebo for mild to severe photodamage on the face and forearms, although losses to follow-up were relatively high in most studies. It concludes that erythema, scaling/dryness, burning/stinging and irritation may be experienced initially.
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These are starting points for the Tretinoin library. Read the source's exact question, product, population and date. A source can be authoritative for one claim and irrelevant to another.
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A Cochrane review reports that eight trials showed topical tretinoin cream in concentrations of 0.02% or higher was superior to placebo for mild to severe photodamage on the face and forearms, although losses to follow-up were relatively high in most studies. It concludes that erythema, scaling/dryness, burning/stinging and irritation may be experienced initially.
Supporting record ↗A systematic review of topical retinoids in acne vulgaris reports no significant difference in efficacy between tretinoin and tazarotene, and that tretinoin 0.05% resulted in 62% of patients experiencing adverse events compared with adapalene 0.1% (19%) and adapalene 0.3% (40%).
Supporting record ↗A systematic review of topical tretinoin for photoaging lists as limitations that different tretinoin formulas, different outcome parameters, and limited recent studies cause lack of uniformity in the evidences.
Supporting record ↗In the Veterans Affairs Topical Tretinoin Chemoprevention Trial, 1,131 patients were randomized to topical 0.1% tretinoin or a matching vehicle control for 1.5-5.5 years. The authors concluded that high-dose topical tretinoin is ineffective at reducing risk of keratinocyte carcinomas in high-risk patients.
Supporting record ↗A mortality analysis of the same Veterans Affairs randomized trial of topical tretinoin reports the intervention was terminated 6 months early because of an excessive number of deaths in the tretinoin-treated group. Its authors wrote that they observed an association of topical tretinoin therapy with death but do not infer a causal association that current evidence suggests is unlikely.
Supporting record ↗The FDA says compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, meaning FDA does not verify the safety, effectiveness or quality of compounded drugs before they are marketed.
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