Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundRosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. Papulopustular rosacea (PPR), one of the subtypes of rosacea, presents with papules and pustules (Pelle, 2008). Topical minocycline allow the delivery of high concentrations of the medication to the skin while decreasing systemic exposure t...

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Main Authors: Awadh Alamri, Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani, Rose A. Alraddadi, Mulham Kalantan, Randa Khafaji, Bader Bashrahil, Hassan Bogari, Athoub Kadasa, Abdulhadi Jfri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1517825/full
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author Awadh Alamri
Awadh Alamri
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Rose A. Alraddadi
Rose A. Alraddadi
Mulham Kalantan
Mulham Kalantan
Randa Khafaji
Randa Khafaji
Bader Bashrahil
Bader Bashrahil
Hassan Bogari
Hassan Bogari
Athoub Kadasa
Athoub Kadasa
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
author_facet Awadh Alamri
Awadh Alamri
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Rose A. Alraddadi
Rose A. Alraddadi
Mulham Kalantan
Mulham Kalantan
Randa Khafaji
Randa Khafaji
Bader Bashrahil
Bader Bashrahil
Hassan Bogari
Hassan Bogari
Athoub Kadasa
Athoub Kadasa
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
author_sort Awadh Alamri
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundRosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. Papulopustular rosacea (PPR), one of the subtypes of rosacea, presents with papules and pustules (Pelle, 2008). Topical minocycline allow the delivery of high concentrations of the medication to the skin while decreasing systemic exposure thereby evading side effects (Jones et al., 2021, Webster et al., 2020). This study aims to review the literature to delineate the efficacy and safety of topical preparations of minocycline in the treatment of moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea.MethodsThis systematic review included randomized clinical trials (RCT) only that compared the efficacy and safety of 1.5% minocycline foam and 1%, 3% minocycline gel versus placebo in patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea. We performed a systematic search in Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Efficacy outcomes included the absolute change in inflammatory lesion counts, the percentage change in the inflammatory lesion count, the percentage of participants achieving Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) with improvement of at least two grades, and the proportion of individuals that achieved an IGA 0/1 score (“clear” or “almost clear”). This paper was conducted in adherence to PRISMA guidelines. Also, we have registered our protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42023447486). Quality assessment of the included studies was conducted using ROB-2 tool. Additionally, we have assessed the level of evidence using GRADE too. The analysis was performed using RevMan.ResultsFive randomized controlled trials with low risk of bias were included in the quantitative synthesis with a total of 2,453 enrolled participants. Minocycline (FMX103) 1.5% foam yielded statistically significant results in terms of IGA score indicating treatment success [Risk Ratio (RR) = 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.66, P = 0.02]. FMX103 and minocycline gel 1% and 3% had significant results in absolute change in inflammatory lesion count (RR = 3.49, 95% CI = 2.61–4.36, P < 0.00001). Change in inflammatory lesion count from baseline with minocycline 1.5% foam was significantly reduced (RR = 9.45, 95% CI = 5.84–13.06, P < 0.00001). Other indicators of symptom reduction were not significant for both foam and gel preparations.ConclusionOur findings suggest that topical preparations of minocycline provide statistically significant results in reducing absolute inflammatory lesion count and having IGA treatment success among patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea. Further studies, however, should assess the efficacy of different concentrations and combinations of minocycline to better delineate the effect of this drug in the clinical aspect.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, identifier CRD42023447486, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023447486.
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spelling doaj-art-d06e9e55045545cfa6d685609ff3aca72025-08-20T01:50:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2025-04-011210.3389/fmed.2025.15178251517825Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysisAwadh Alamri0Awadh Alamri1Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani2Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani3Rose A. Alraddadi4Rose A. Alraddadi5Mulham Kalantan6Mulham Kalantan7Randa Khafaji8Randa Khafaji9Bader Bashrahil10Bader Bashrahil11Hassan Bogari12Hassan Bogari13Athoub Kadasa14Athoub Kadasa15Abdulhadi Jfri16Abdulhadi Jfri17Abdulhadi Jfri18College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Ministry of the National Guard-Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Ministry of the National Guard-Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Ministry of the National Guard-Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaBackgroundRosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition. Papulopustular rosacea (PPR), one of the subtypes of rosacea, presents with papules and pustules (Pelle, 2008). Topical minocycline allow the delivery of high concentrations of the medication to the skin while decreasing systemic exposure thereby evading side effects (Jones et al., 2021, Webster et al., 2020). This study aims to review the literature to delineate the efficacy and safety of topical preparations of minocycline in the treatment of moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea.MethodsThis systematic review included randomized clinical trials (RCT) only that compared the efficacy and safety of 1.5% minocycline foam and 1%, 3% minocycline gel versus placebo in patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea. We performed a systematic search in Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Efficacy outcomes included the absolute change in inflammatory lesion counts, the percentage change in the inflammatory lesion count, the percentage of participants achieving Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) with improvement of at least two grades, and the proportion of individuals that achieved an IGA 0/1 score (“clear” or “almost clear”). This paper was conducted in adherence to PRISMA guidelines. Also, we have registered our protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42023447486). Quality assessment of the included studies was conducted using ROB-2 tool. Additionally, we have assessed the level of evidence using GRADE too. The analysis was performed using RevMan.ResultsFive randomized controlled trials with low risk of bias were included in the quantitative synthesis with a total of 2,453 enrolled participants. Minocycline (FMX103) 1.5% foam yielded statistically significant results in terms of IGA score indicating treatment success [Risk Ratio (RR) = 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.66, P = 0.02]. FMX103 and minocycline gel 1% and 3% had significant results in absolute change in inflammatory lesion count (RR = 3.49, 95% CI = 2.61–4.36, P < 0.00001). Change in inflammatory lesion count from baseline with minocycline 1.5% foam was significantly reduced (RR = 9.45, 95% CI = 5.84–13.06, P < 0.00001). Other indicators of symptom reduction were not significant for both foam and gel preparations.ConclusionOur findings suggest that topical preparations of minocycline provide statistically significant results in reducing absolute inflammatory lesion count and having IGA treatment success among patients with moderate to severe papulopustular rosacea. Further studies, however, should assess the efficacy of different concentrations and combinations of minocycline to better delineate the effect of this drug in the clinical aspect.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, identifier CRD42023447486, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023447486.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1517825/fullrosaceatopicalminocyclinefoamsystematic review
spellingShingle Awadh Alamri
Awadh Alamri
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Abdulrahman H. Alsamadani
Rose A. Alraddadi
Rose A. Alraddadi
Mulham Kalantan
Mulham Kalantan
Randa Khafaji
Randa Khafaji
Bader Bashrahil
Bader Bashrahil
Hassan Bogari
Hassan Bogari
Athoub Kadasa
Athoub Kadasa
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
Abdulhadi Jfri
Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Frontiers in Medicine
rosacea
topical
minocycline
foam
systematic review
title Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort efficacy and safety of topical minocycline preparations for papulopustular rosacea a systematic review and meta analysis
topic rosacea
topical
minocycline
foam
systematic review
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1517825/full
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