Article: British Journal of Dermatology, August 2022
Is routine laboratory testing in healthy young patients taking isotretinoin necessary - a critically appraised topic
Andrew Affleck et. al.
Abstract
Adverse events were very rare (less than 1 in 10,000) and either idiosyncratic or not preventable by monitoring, were accompanied by symptoms, or occurred in identifiable predisposed individuals that may benefit from monitoring because of pre-existing conditions.
Recommendation for clinical care: We could not find evidence to support the benefit of monitoring to detect adverse events. We suggest that in healthy young people laboratory monitoring for oral isotretinoin is unnecessary and risks detecting non-serious biochemical abnormalities. However, we recognise that new information about adverse events may change that recommendation.
Br J Dermatol. 2022 Aug 20. PMID: 35986616