The Use of Teledermatology in the Treatment of Patients With Severe Acne on Isotretinoin

Mass General Brigham

Status: Withdrawn

Conditions: Acne Vulgaris

Treatments: Behavioral: Teledermatology visits

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03707236

2018P001749

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a non-blinded randomized controlled non-inferiority trial designed to assess the efficacy and role of teledermatology visits in the treatment of patients with severe acne starting isotretinoin. Males and females 16 years or older will be randomized to either the control arm (monthly office visits during treatment weeks 8-20) or treatment arm (teledermatology visits during treatment weeks 8-20). The primary outcome is the change in total inflammatory lesion count. Secondary outcomes include changes in acne severity based on the Leeds scale, patient satisfaction, acne severity as perceived by the patient, cost and time-lost to patients and families, need for interim and unexpected urgent appointments, adverse medication effects. The investigators are hypothesizing that patients randomized to the treatment arm will have no statistically significant difference in total inflammatory lesion count or acne severity than the control arm. The investigators also hypothesize that adverse events will be equivalent in both groups and the treatment arm will report less cost associated with visits.

Full description

The role of telemedicine in dermatology is ever-expanding. Currently, teledermatology has been shown to be advantageous in disease processes that require frequent office follow-up visits such as psoriasis. In 2010, Watkins et al. demonstrated that teledermatology was effective in treating patients 16 years and older with moderate acne and demonstrated equivocal clinical outcomes as traditional office visits along with equivocal patient and provider satisfaction scores. More recently, Fruhauf et al. conducted a small study examining patients with severe acne on isotretinoin and found similar results in terms of safety and efficacy. Patients with severe acne on isotretinoin therapy currently are scheduled for monthly office visits in the dermatology clinic for at least six consecutive months during which time the severity of their acne is assessed by a dermatologist and dose adjustments are made accordingly. Patients are also required to get monthly laboratory studies immediately before, during, or after their visit, and this must be reviewed by the provider prior to prescription renewal according to iPledge guidelines. Given the fact that this medication is typically prescribed to teenagers or young adults, the high frequency of office visits put a significant burden on both patients and their families and results in unnecessary time missed from work or school.

Sex: All

Ages: 16+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients must have a diagnosis of severe acne by a dermatologist with a plan of initiating treatment with isotretinoin
• Patients must first be enrolled in iPledge prior to eligibility

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who have baseline hepatic dysfunction or hypertriglyceridemia
• Patients with a history of depression, suicide attempts or suicidal ideation
• Patients without access to internet or a camera (including portable camera and/or smart phone) at home
• Patients who are pregnant - absolute contraindication

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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0 participants in 2 patient groups

Treatment arm

Experimental group

Description:

Patients in the treatment arm will have monthly office visits for weeks 0-4 and then have monthly teledermatology visits during weeks 8-20 with a final office visit at week 24. Standardized baseline photographs including 3 facial images (front, left, and right) as well as 2 truncal images of the chest and back (if affected) will be taken in the office at treatment week 0 and 24 for all patients. All patients will be required to take photos in front of a white wall to facilitate blinding.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Teledermatology visits

Control arm

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in the control arm will have the same series of photographs taken at each monthly visit. These patients will also be required to fill out a monthly survey assessing acne severity, quality of life, cost of attending appointment, time missed from school/work, satisfaction with treatment (only to be reviewed by study staff) and will be screened for adverse events by their provider. Every patient will be counseled about isotretinoin and contraception (if applicable) by their provider in order to adhere with iPledge requirements. All photographs will be uploaded into the patient's medical record. The physician will be required to document a progress note in the electronic medical record after each visit as per standard hospital protocol.