Philippine E-Journals

A randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of baking soda - acetic acid solution as an adjunct to benzoyl peroxide in treating acne vulgaris among Filipino teenagers and adults

Discipline: Health

 

Abstract:

Introduction Acne vulgaris is common among young adults. Benzoyl peroxide is the current mainstay of treatment. Baking soda and acetic acid are common household agents that can be used in creating a solution for skin conditions, including acne. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a baking soda-acetic acid solution as an adjunct to Benzoyl peroxide in treating subjects with facial acne who have at least 10 non-inflammatory lesions, at least 5 inflammatory lesions, or a total lesion count of at least 15 using Evaluators Global Severity Scale.

Methods This study was a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Subjects were randomized to a treatment group (Benzoyl peroxide gel-baking soda-acetic acid) or a control group (Benzoyl peroxide gel-distilled water). Improvement was noted by a 1-grade reduction from baseline score at the end of each week for four weeks.

Results There was a more significant improvement (p=0.008) in the control group than the treatment group by EGSS score, with a mean reduction of 1.39 for the baking-soda solution and 2.09 for the distilled water groups. The relative risk (0.820) showed the control was more beneficial than the treatment, although not statistically significant (p=0.109).

Conclusion Data from this study do not conform to results of previous researches, which showed significant improvement of acne severity. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is the addition of aspirin in previous studies, which was not used in this trial. Improvement in EGSS scores in both groups was believed to be secondary to Benzoyl peroxide. Baking soda-acetic acid solution was not effective as an adjunct to Benzoyl peroxide in treating acne vulgaris.