Patients with severe acne often remain on antibiotics for several months before they are transitioned to a potentially more effective treatment. A review of medical records of 137 patients found that on average, patients were kept on antibiotics for eleven months before their healthcare provider decided the medicine was not effective. Dr. Katy Burris, a dermatologist at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, New York adds, “We need to recognize those patients who are not responding to oral antibiotics sooner rather than later, to minimize overexposure to antibiotics as well as potential scarring, and initiate successful therapy.”
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, October 2015