EFFICACY OF ORAL METFORMIN VERSUS ORAL DOXYCYCLINE IN TREATING ACNE VULGARIS

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris is a common inflammatory disorder of the pilosebaceous unit that may cause scarring and psychological distress. Objective: To compare the efficacy of oral metformin with oral doxycycline in patients with moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Outpatient Department of Dermatology, Lahore Medical and Dental College/Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital, Lahore. A total of 96 patients aged 12–40 years were enrolled through non-probability consecutive sampling and randomly allocated into two equal groups. Group A received oral metformin 500 mg twice daily, while Group B received oral doxycycline 100 mg once daily for 12 weeks. Results: The mean total lesion count in the metformin group decreased from 35.20 ± 11.73 at baseline to 21.96 ± 8.93 at 8 weeks and 14.24 ± 7.69 at 12 weeks. In the doxycycline group, it declined from 38.40 ± 11.35 to 25.92 ± 9.62 and 15.84 ± 8.62, respectively. Significant reductions in total, inflammatory, and non-inflammatory lesion counts were observed within both groups (p<0.001). At 12 weeks, no significant differences were found between the groups in total lesion count (p=0.502), inflammatory lesion count (p=0.639), or non-inflammatory lesion count (p=0.070). Conclusion: Both oral metformin and oral doxycycline significantly reduced acne lesion counts and severity over 12 weeks, with no significant difference in final clinical outcomes.