A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Drug Prescribing Patterns and Therapeutic Practices in Acne Vulgaris and Tinea Infections

Author

Shivamuttu,Sumaiya Taj,Goutham Gowda B,Madhushaluni B,Hamsaveni M,Sheba Baby John,Umesh M

Abstract

 Background: Acne vulgaris and tinea infections are frequent dermatological conditions encountered in outpatient practice. Although effective topical and systemic medicines are available, prescribing patterns vary with disease severity, clinical setting, patient characteristics, medicine availability and prescriber preference. Irrational polypharmacy, inappropriate antimicrobial exposure, brand-name prescribing and inconsistent documentation may compromise treatment quality and contribute to avoidable adverse effects, interactions, cost and antimicrobial resistance.

Objective: To narratively review published evidence on the prescribing patterns of medicines used for acne vulgaris and tinea infections, with emphasis on drug classes, topical and systemic therapy, common agents, dosage forms, combination prescribing, rationality, antimicrobial stewardship and factors associated with variation in prescribing.

Methods: A narrative review was prepared using the 14 references supplied by the author. The supplied manuscript was used as the structural model for organization into Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Limitations, Conclusion and References. The supplied references were checked through accessible PubMed, PMC, journal and publisher pages where possible. Findings were narratively synthesise rather than pooled statistically.

Results:The reviewed studies demonstrated considerable variation in drug prescribing patterns for acne vulgaris and tinea infections. In acne vulgaris, Grade II disease was the most frequently reported severity, with both topical and systemic therapies widely used. Benzoyl peroxide, topical tretinoin combinations, doxycycline, azithromycin, and oral isotretinoin were among the commonly prescribed agents, with substantial differences in systemic drug utilization between healthcare settings. Polypharmacy was particularly prominent in acne management. In tinea infections, terbinafine, luliconazole, and itraconazole were the predominant antifungal agents, while creams and lotions were the most commonly prescribed dosage forms. The review also identified frequent brand-name prescribing, incomplete prescription documentation, limited generic prescribing, and variable use of combination therapies. Overall, the findings indicate marked heterogeneity in prescribing practices and highlight concerns regarding polypharmacy, antimicrobial stewardship, prescription quality, and adherence to rational drug-use principles.

Conclusion: Prescribing patterns for acne and tinea are characterise by extensive use of topical combinations, retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics and antifungals, with important differences between settings. The evidence supports severity-based treatment, avoidance of antibiotic monotherapy, cautious systemic antifungal use, appropriate monitoring, generic prescribing, prescription auditing and antimicrobial stewardship. More standardise multicentre prescription studies are required to compare dose, frequency, duration, rationality and clinical outcomes.

Keywords

Acne vulgaris; Tinea infection; Dermatophytosis; Prescribing pattern; Drug utilisation; Antifungal agents; Retinoids; Antibiotics; Rational drug use; Antimicrobial stewardship; Polypharmacy.

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References

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