Isotretinoin-Related Eye Dryness in Acne Patients in Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background Isotretinoin is a commonly prescribed agent mainly used to treat acne vulgaris. Since its Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, the subject of its associations with various medical conditions has become a growing interest in many investigational studies. Methodology A retrospective study was conducted using the validated Standardized Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) questionnaire. All statistical calculations were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0.1 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY). Results The research study involved 107 participants, predominantly Saudi nationals (98.1%), with an average age of 22 years. Regarding the total cumulative dose (TCD), 40.2% had less than 50 mg/kg, 33.6% had between 50 and 100 mg/kg, and 15.9% had more than 100 mg/kg. The majority (73.8%) did not stop using isotretinoin. The average Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score, indicating ocular surface disease symptoms, was 26.78. There was no significant association between gender, dose/duration of isotretinoin, TCD, and age, and OSDI scores. However, participants with severe OSDI scores were more likely to have worsened pre-existing eye symptoms compared to those with non-severe OSDI scores (35.1% versus 11.4%, p = 0.011). Conclusions This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of isotretinoin usage on ocular surface health. While no significant associations were found between gender, dose, duration, TCD, and age, and OSDI scores, participants with pre-existing eye symptoms were more likely to experience worsened symptoms during isotretinoin treatment.

Association Between Baseline Serum Lipids and Severity of Dry Eye Symptoms in Acne Patients Treated with Isotretinoin

“…Other confounders that may affect the severity of eye dryness include lifestyle, other medications, smoking, environmental factors, duration of isotretinoin treatment, and variations in the frequency of applying eye lubricants among patients. Isotretinoin can affect the severity of DES, but previous research was done to examine the association between isotretinoin cumulative dose and OSDI scores and found no statistically significant association between the severity of dry eye symptoms and the total cumulative dose of isotretinoin [30]. Other limitations of the study include the retrospective nature of the study and recall bias, given that it is a questionnaire-based study.…”