Bacterial resistance in French acne patients.

Background: The percentage of strains of Propionibacterium acnes resistant to antibiotics in acne is increasing in many countries, raising the question of the risks associated with bacterial resistance. Numerous series of cases have been published on European populations of acne patients, but at the moment we still have very few data regarding France.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of P. acnes resistant strains to erythromycin, tetracycline, and doxycycline in a population of French acne patients.

Methods: Specimens were collected from 273 patients in 43 centers located throughout France (12 hospitals and 31 private office practices).

Results: 75.1% of the patients were carriers of P. acnes strains resistant to erythromycin and 9.5% to tetracycline. One hundred percent of strains resistant to tetracycline were also resistant to doxycycline. There was no significant difference among the regions and between patients followed in hospital or private office.

Conclusions: It clearly appears that the percentage of patients with P. acnes strains resistant to erythromycin is similar to that in other countries, but lower for tetracycline or doxycycline in comparison to other European countries.