Oral and written counseling is a useful instrument to improve short-term adherence to treatment in acne patients: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Therapeutic success in acne patients not only depends in the appropriate selection of drugs but also on patient’s treatment adherence or compliance. Lack of adherence is a very important problem both in general medicine and in dermatologic practice.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of oral and written counseling in adherence to treatment in acne patients.

Patients and Methods: Eighty patients were randomized into a two study groups of 40 patients each in which instructions were given in a written note (besides oral counseling) and reinforced by a telephone within 15 days of onset, and a control group that received indications as usual (oral counseling in-office only). Both groups were followed-up, evaluating adherence to treatment according to self-reporting of patients at 30, 60, 90 days and 6 months.

Results: Better adherence to treatment was observed in the intervention group, being statistically significant only in the first month of treatment (80% versus 62%, p = 0.043). The beneficial effect of written counseling plus a phone call diluted in subsequent months.

Conclusion: Written counseling significantly improves adherence in the first month of treatment. Good adherence could also lead to more effective treatments so it seems reasonable to use time and resources to optimize adherence to treatment.