Topically applied erythromycin in inflammatory acne vulgaris.

We evaluated the effectiveness of 2% erythromycin and its alcohol/propylene glycol vehicle in the treatment of three hundred forty-eight patients with inflammatory acne vulgaris. A significantly greater reduction was noted in the papulopustule count for the erythromycin-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group. Additionally, clinical improvement, as measured by physician global ratings, was significantly greater in the erythromycin-treated group. A lower adverse reaction rate observed in the erythromycin-treated patients may result from previously demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties of this antibiotic.