TITLE:
Therapeutic Role of Isotretinoin in the Management of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (Single-Blind Controlled Therapeutic Study)
AUTHORS:
Khalifa E. Sharquie, Raad M. Helmi, Adil A. Noaimi, Mohand A. A. Kadhom, Raafa K. Al-Hayani
KEYWORDS:
Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis, Isotretinoin, Iraq
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications,
Vol.5 No.1,
February
11,
2015
ABSTRACT: Background: Recurrent
aphthous ulcer (RAS) is a common oral disease where its etiopathogenesis is not
well elucidated. There was no effective curative therapy for this disease.
Isotretinoin has been recently used in the treatment of Behcet’s disease. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy
and safety of isotretinoin in treating RAS and the long term remission of RAS. Patients and Methods: This single-blind
controlled therapeutic study conducted in Department of Dermatology-Baghdad
Teaching Hospital during February 2011-January 2012. Thirty patients with
typical RAS were included in this work. Detailed history and full examination
were done for all patients. They were given isotretinoin 20 mg orally once
daily for three months to be seen on Day 14 firstly and then monthly to be
assessed using the oral clinical manifestation index (OCMI). After isotretinoin
was stopped three months later, patients were given placebo therapy for another
3 months. Results: The results
of 30 treated patients were as follows: 17 (56.67%) males and 13 (43.33%)
females with male to female ratio was 1.3:1. Their ages ranged from 12 - 60
(35.33 ± 12.06) years. The OCMI before isotretinoin therapy ranged from 7 - 17
(13.13 ± 2.55), while after therapy the mean started to decline to a lower
level within the first 14 days (P = 0.103), and continued to decline
significantly until the end of the first month of therapy (P = 0.023). Then the
OCMI declined very significantly until the end of fourth month of therapy (P