Pediatria pre prax 3/2009

Severe forms of acne and their treatment

Acne vulgaris is a condition in which several pathogenic factors are involved. Based on the clinical picture, mild, moderate, and severe forms of acne are distinguished. In particular, severe forms of acne require complex treatment with systemic drugs supplemented with topical preparations. The first part of the paper deals with the basics of acne vulgaris as well as with acne conglobata, acne inversa, acne fulminans, and acne infantum. The therapeutic options in these severe forms of acne are outlined. The second part is focused on rarer forms of acne which are also included in severe forms of the disease due to their course and clinical picture. These include, in particular, tropical acne, body-building acne, androgenizing syndrome, SAHA syndrome, SAPHO syndrome, and XYY syndrome. Attention is also paid to adequate treatment which not only has to comply with combined systemic and topical therapy, but in some cases also requires surgical treatment. The paper includes an overview of the most important systemic drugs used for the treatment of both moderate and severe acne.

Keywords: severe forms of acne, clinical features, treatment.