Drug-resistant propionibacteria cause problems in acne therapy

Abstract

Until recently, sequential antibacterial therapy with topical and systemic agents was standard practice for treating severe acne. Most physicians and dermatologists did not consider antibacterial resistance to be a clinically relevant problem in this indication. However, data presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology [ Washington DC, US; February 1996 ] clearly showed that antibacterial-resistant Propionibacterium acnes have emerged. The implications of this finding to clinical practice were discussed.