Optimal laboratory testing protocol for patients with acne taking oral isotretinoin

Table 1 Overall patients’ characteristics

Characteristics		Mean (min-max)	n(%)
Age		22.8 (15-38)	30 (100)
Sex	Male		19 (63)
	Female		11 (37)
	Total		30 (100)
Total prescription days		339.1 (230-1216)
Total prescription dose (mg)		4029.7 (230-10495)
Daily prescription dose (mg/d)		13.2 (8.01-20)
Underlying disease	None		23 (77)
	Androgenetic alopecia		1 (3)
	Asthma		1 (3)
	Crohn’s disease		1 (3)
	Ulcerative colitis		1 (3)
	Seborrheic dermatitis		1 (3)
	Urticaria		2 (6)

Table 2 Number of patients with a laboratory abnormality by month of therapy

Laboratory	Month 1 (total number: 30), n (%)	Month 2 (total number: 26), n (%)	Month 3 (total number: 21), n (%)	Month 4 (total number: 20), n (%)	Month 5 (total number: 18), n (%)	Month 6 (total number: 13), n (%)
AST	2 (7)	2 (8)	4 (19)	1 (5)	0 (0)	1 (8)
ALT	0 (0)	1 (4)	1 (5)	1 (5)	0 (0)	1 (8)
TG	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (5)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
HDL	2 (7)	2 (8)	1 (5)	0 (0)	1 (6)	0 (0)
LDL	21 (70)	19 (73)	14 (67)	14 (70)	11 (61)	7 (54)
Total cholesterol	6 (20)	4 (15)	5 (24)	3 (15)	5 (28)	3 (23)

AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TG: Triglycerides; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein.

Table 3 Significant monthly change points for each blood test and their relationship to the dependent variable

Blood test	Variable	1-2 mo	2-3 mo	3-4 mo	4-5 mo	5-6 mo
AST	Sex	0.221	0.761	0.769	0.467	0.743
	Prescription days	0.721	0.341	0.584	0.777	0.020
	Prescription dose	0.588	0.310	0.369	0.980	0.029
	Total	0.523	0.434	0.868	0.311	0.153
ALT	Sex	0.296	0.362	0.174	0.912	0.927
	Prescription days	0.699	0.055	0.345	0.262	0.016
	Prescription dose	0.948	0.081	0.527	0.314	0.021
	Total	0.580	0.261	0.689	0.709	0.126
TG	Sex	0.818	0.357	0.538	0.858	0.313
	Prescription days	0.801	0.681	0.823	0.718	0.008
	Prescription dose	0.730	0.355	0.876	0.883	0.009
	Total	0.788	0.501	0.529	0.536	0.024
HDL	Sex	0.552	0.999	0.747	0.498	0.190
	Prescription days	0.475	0.227	0.579	0.922	0.323
	Prescription dose	0.632	0.190	0.528	0.950	0.083
	Total	0.521	0.232	0.716	0.611	0.018
LDL	Sex	0.464	0.524	0.510	0.715	0.445
	Prescription days	0.015	0.869	0.325	0.747	0.786
	Prescription dose	0.006	0.918	0.167	0.842	0.835
	Total	0.052	0.338	0.140	0.755	0.746
Total cholesterol	Sex	0.469	0.348	0.373	0.576	0.336
	Prescription days	0.066	0.761	0.310	0.869	0.761
	Prescription dose	0.019	0.576	0.095	0.925	0.710
	Total	0.104	0.228	0.076	0.698	0.427

P-values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; TG: Triglycerides; HDL: High-density lipoprotein; LDL: Low-density lipoprotein.