An appraisal of microbiological spectrum in Acne Vulgaris from a tertiary care teaching institution

Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin disorders in puberty. The widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the treatment of acne has resulted in the spread of resistant bacterial strains and treatment failure. Aim: The study aimed to analyze the microbiological spectrum in acne vulgaris and to evaluate its susceptibility to the antibiotics widely used for acne. Material and methods: The present cross sectional study was carried out by the Department of Microbiology and Dermatology, MSDS Medical College, Fatehgarh among the patients seeking care for acne vulgaris with pustular and nodulocystic skin lesions in the Dermatology OPD of a rural medical school from western Uttar Pradesh. Patients with pregnancy or endocrinal problems like hirsutism, menstrual dysfunction or adrenal dysfunction and those taking drugs or contraceptives were excluded. The samples were cultured individually on blood agar and Muller-Hinton media. The cultures were then incubated under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions for 2-7 days. Bacteria were identified and their resistance to common antibiotics was evaluated according to the standard procedures. After compilation of collected data, analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 21 (IBM, Chicago, USA). Results: Aerobically, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Propionibacterium acne and Micrococcus spp were detected in 44%, 47%, 1% and 46% of samples respectively whereas anaerobically these were 39%, 21%, 34% and 1% respectively. Propionibacterium acne, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus were more sensitive to rifampin (almost 90%) compared to other drugs. Neomycin was found to be least sensitive. Conclusion: The study highlighted the need to discourage antibiotics' abuse. Rifampin is a suitable antibiotic for acne patients, but to achieve a better result, combination of rifampin with other antibiotics should be tried. It is also suggested that studies with bigger sample size on evaluation acne vulgaris treated by rifampin should be undertaken.